


Trapped Together

by GeoffFree



Series: The Hunters [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, Fantasy AU, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Geoff Centric, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Multi, Survival Situation, follow ups will have more pairings, gavin centric, injuries, minecraft au, not even close to a slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-06 13:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 36,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11037531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeoffFree/pseuds/GeoffFree
Summary: After a creeper explosion triggers a cave-in, Gavin and Geoff find themselves trapped in an abandoned mine with little hope of escape. Injured, and with no way to contact the others to let them know they are alive, their problems only get worse when it quickly becomes apparent that they are not completely alone in the darkness.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There will be three chapters in all. The first draft has already been finished so I'm just in the rewriting stage now. It will update every Tuesday. 
> 
> This story is mostly focused on Gavin and Geoff. The reason it is tagged with Freewood is because it is in this story that it starts to be hinted at, and in the sequel it will be present. It is also tagged AHOT6 because that is endgame for this series. This story can however be read as a standalone piece. 
> 
> The sequels aren't written yet, but will be shorter pieces set in the same universe. 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr as love-GeoffFree or at lovegeoffFreewriting. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

 

It all happened so quickly.

All at once there was a nauseatingly familiar hissing sound behind them and they were turning, reaching for their weapons instinctively. There was a flash of green as the creeper slinked away from the shadows and into the light, where steam poured visibly from its open pores. Then, with a high-pitched yell Gavin had pulled out his dagger and lunged towards it.

Geoff didn’t know whether Gavin, in the darkness of the tunnels, had missed the sliver of red glittering threateningly beneath the pores, or if he had simply panicked at the unexpected appearance. Geoff hadn’t even had the time to pull him back before the creeper stepped into the path of the dagger with a low reverberating growl.

As the dagger sliced through the thick pelt, Gavin’s eyes widened as he seemed to realise his mistake. The creeper’s dark eyes narrowed and its skin started to flash with the impending explosion. Geoff yelled out, panic gripping him as Gavin stumbled backwards, leaving his dagger embedded in the charged creeper.

It was too late. The creeper’s skin was abruptly set ablaze. The fire spread quickly, burning away the pelt and revealing a glimpse of crackling, molten flesh which was quickly consumed by the explosion that rocked through the tunnel.

The ball of fire blinded him, and Geoff cursed, throwing an arm in front of his eyes as he tried to push towards where Gavin had been. The heat licked at his skin and sizzled his hair. It attacked him like a clump of tiny pins slicing into him, making his skin feel raw and exposed. But his only thought was Gavin.

His heart shot up into his throat as the ground beneath him shifted. The cave gave a deep groan and then he was forced to jump backwards as the floor beneath him disappeared. Close, but still too far away, he heard Gavin give a startled cry.

The darkness to which the ground had opened slowly revealed a wooden skeletal structure, twisting upwards into what once may have been a mining portal. It buried further into the rocks, leading to a rickety mineshaft. The villages had been right after all.

He caught a glimpse of Gavin on the drift level that had been revealed, and he sighed with momentary relief. He hadn’t fallen far. Gavin seemed stunned, but was clambering unsteadily to his feet so he must have escaped the worst of the blast.

But his relief died instantly when he saw the battered stone structure, just beneath where the creeper had detonated, which perhaps once might have been able to stand the wrath of the creeper’s death, but now had several gaping holes which revealed several sticks of old – but most definitely volatile – dynamite.

“Gavin!” He cried, charging forwards even as the dynamite started to flash. But his arm was grabbed, and he was pulled back with enough force to make his shoulder throb. He growled, turning to see Ryan holding onto him with wide eyes as the dynamite exploded behind him.

“Get off me!” He shouted, twisting out of Ryan’s grip. The ground, the ground where Gavin had been standing, had collapsed, the rocks disappearing into a black hole, as the chain of explosions continued to rock through the exposed mineshaft. Geoff yelled, something raw and incoherent, and he jumped down onto the drift level even as the evidently unstable mine continued to shudder.

“Geoff, don’t!” Ryan screamed after him, but he ignored him. The darkness enveloped him as he dropped down onto the first drift level, and hurried towards the mineshaft. There was, thankfully a ladder, which he dived for and started to descend rapidly.

There was another explosion. The shockwave rattled him and the ladder groaned. He cursed, watching the old ladder start to detach from the wall. He hurried down faster, but then yelled out as one of the rungs he was holding snapped in his grip. He fell, and his arms snapped out, scrabbling for further purchase. He managed to grab onto the ladder and steady himself, but was unable to take a moment’s pause as the ladder continued to shake.

There was a heavy thump beneath him, followed by a deep, pained groan. He scrambled quickly down the remaining rungs, eventually taking the risk and jumping away. The ladder fell with him, the metal twisting and snapping above him as he tumbled the last few feet.

Pain flared in his knees. He gasped, throwing his hands out in front of him as the momentum carried him forward and he fell. He hissed as the rocks sliced through his palms, and he narrowly avoided smashing his cheek into the ground. For a moment he lay there, breathing heavily, until he heard the rustle of nearby movement and heard Gavin’s low murmur of pain.

“Gav, buddy, you okay?” He asked, scrambling onto his hands and knees. He was only just about able to make out Gavin’s features in the low sliver of light from above.

Gavin shuffled towards him, but before he had time to respond there was a distinct whoosh from above. Geoff yelled as a shadow engulfed them, and he moved, grabbing Gavin around the waist and rolling them both over, just as a large chunk of rock crashed into the ground where they had been. There wasn’t even a second to breathe as debris continued to rain down upon them.

Geoff kept dragging them back, away from the rockslide, until he hit a block. His back pressed up against what felt like metal grating. He threw an arm over himself and Gavin, shielding them from the small rocks and pebbles that rained down on them even beneath the relative safety of the wooden planking above, which held the treacherous earth at bay. 

But then there was a creaking that echoed all around them and his breath hitched. Behind him he felt the metal groan and twist.

“Geoff…lift,” Gavin said, his voice drowned out by the noise of the rockfall and the grinding metal. Geoff looked at him in confusion, but Gavin’s expression was masked in shadows.

Above them the wooden planking – their only defence against the crushing weight of the rocks above- splintered.

Gavin moved, shifting away from his grip and reaching for the metal grating behind them. He hissed, pulling the grating to the side, where it groaned but slowly started to shift open.

Geoff’s eyes widened in understanding. The wooden planks above started to bend outwards and sparks of splinters drifted down onto them.

Geoff fell into place beside Gavin, helping him to pull open the entrance to the transport cage. It finally relented and swung open, and they tumbled hurriedly into the lift as the wood snapped completely and the tunnel filled with rocks and debris.

Above them the lift stretched into what must be the first drift level; the metal crisscrossed over itself, holding back the ground that was pressed in tightly on either side. But an explosion had torn a hole through the top of the shaft, and now, with the tunnel rapidly filling with dirt, it lost all its support.

Geoff was frozen to the spot, watching as the metal, black with rust and grime, tore away from its fixed spot with a howl; the bars twisted and snapped under the sudden pressure. It was shifting, bending, falling to the right as the ground shifted.

The lift jolted as a few of the wires holding it up snapped.  He tightened his grip on Gavin. The mineshaft was still twisting, pulling to the side, and now the old metal started to break apart. Metal bars and panels were dislodged completely and crashed down beside them, missing them by a sheer miracle, but dislodging the floor of the lift even more.

Finally, one more bar crashed down beside them and the pressure became too much. All the wires snapped and the ground beneath them disappeared and then they were falling.

His stomach lurched and he screamed. He scrambled desperately, managing to slow his descent as he found some purchase in the deep groves of the side panels. But the mineshaft was still disintegrating, and he got a grip only to be bounced off by the sudden movement and thrown further down.

The mineshaft had bent inwards, and now metal bars and panels swung outwards across the gap, offering him some form of purchase. He managed to grab hold of a metal bar, which swivelled under his weight, and made him tumble onto a shaking rod underneath, which he wrapped around desperately.

He screamed, his body arching as another metal rod shot past him, slicing against his shoulder and into the flesh of his back. For a moment, his vision was filled with static and he could taste blood at the back of his throat, and then it cleared. He heard the rod slam into the ground beneath him and felt his back throb.

“Gavin?” He called, swallowing heavily as he looked around. The thin stream of light above him flickered as the mine continued to crumble, but he could just about make out the pile of twisted rods and sharpened stone beneath him, which clawed up towards him like spears.

“Geoff!” His name echoed from somewhere behind him, and there was a sheer desperation and panic lacing the tone that made him turn without thinking about his own precarious position.

He traced the voice to slightly above him, watching with horror as Gavin scrambled to keep his hold on a metal rod, which tilted downwards, making it impossible for him to pull himself back up. Beneath him was a drop of several feet over twisted metal rods ready to impale him.

Geoff started to edge towards the side of the wall, struggling to find a path towards Gavin. He tugged experimentally at a possible foothold, but the rocks that lined the mineshaft were too loose to support his weight and it tumbled uselessly to the ground.

Above him, Gavin was breathing heavily. His nails scratched across the metal as he attempted to clamber upwards, when the rod he was clinging to suddenly lurched, almost flinging Gavin off completely. Gavin let out a started cry, falling completely still as the rod creaked, shifting a few more inches.

“Gavin, stay there!” He called. Gavin whimpered as the metal rod shuddered.

Geoff started to make his way down, lowering himself onto a metal panel that had fallen and gotten lodged a couple feet below him. The panel trembled under his weight, before collapsing completely. He jumped, rolling onto the ground and cursing as the skin on his hands and knees was shredded and his shins bruised as he crashed onto the mound of earth that was mostly crumbled rock.

Above him Gavin made a questioning noise, and Geoff pushed onwards, scrambling to his feet and limping towards the sharp twisted debris beneath Gavin.

He grabbed hold of a metal rod, his feet sliding across the ground as he struggled to pull it free. The jagged metal nicked his palms but after a moment it relented, falling to the side so that it’s sharp, pointed tip was no longer beneath Gavin. As it fell it dislodged several more rocks, and he struggled to keep his footing as the ground moved beneath him.  

“Geoff…” Gavin groaned, struggling to keep his hold. There were too many dangerous debris to move in time. Geoff chewed on his lip, hurrying his movements as he went for the next biggest rod, ignoring the deep burn of his muscles.

He managed to push the rod so it was lying flat on the ground, relatively harmless compared to its previous spike-like position. There were several more rods and large stones with sharpened points: he managed to move a few, but others were lodged firmly.

Geoff froze as Gavin yelped again, the rod he was clinging to shifting precariously. It wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Gavin, swing towards me,” he called. He had managed to clear a small area of land; it wasn’t going to be comfortable to land on, but it shouldn’t be deadly. Hopefully.

“What?” Gavin cried breathlessly, panic evident in his voice as the rod started to bend inwards under his weight.

“Trust me!” He yelled back, his eyes fixed on Gavin’s shadowed figure.

Gavin hissed, but started to swing his lower body, trying to build the momentum needed to aim his landing, when the rod snapped completely.

Gavin screamed. The two ends of the rod spiralled into the ground – away from them thankfully- like javelins.

Gavin was off target. Geoff pushed forwards, clambering up onto sharpened stone, and grabbed Gavin around the waist with reflexes honed by years of training.

He rolled, twisting with the momentum, in the direction he had just been, away from the more jagged spikes. He grunted, his torso exploding with bruises as he bared the onslaught off the debris bashing relentlessly into him, trying to shield Gavin from most of the damage.

They stopped rolling, but all the noise and movement had triggered another slide, and rocks started to rain down on them. Geoff hissed, dragging them back until they were pressed up into a corner. He wrapped his arms further around Gavin, and pulled his knees up tight, turning his face away from the carnage as rocks covered them and dust attacked their lungs. Every now and again there was a particularly loud crash that made them both jump.

Above them, the meagre light flickered out, replaced instead by menacing shadows as the entrance was covered and they were enveloped in complete darkness.

A couple minutes after that and it finally stopped. The stillness was abrupt. It was completely silent save their heavy breathing and the sound of disturbed earth settling.

“Gavin! Where are you hurt?” He said, snapping into action as the danger subsided momentarily. He blindly reached for Gavin’s shoulder, but Gavin shook him off. He could feel Gavin shaking against his chest and hear the low wheezes coming from him. “Gavin, tell me,” he demanded, fear making his stomach twist anxiously.

“Dust, temperature…” Gavin groaned out, squirming in his grip.

“What?”

“Gagging,” Gavin explained with a strained gurgle. Geoff slumped, rolling his eyes as he withheld a sigh of relief.

“Fucking hell, don’t do that,” he muttered, rubbing a hand down his face, which felt thick with grime and dust.

His entire body ached, feeling unnaturally stiff and sore as the adrenaline dissipated rapidly. It was hard to assess his injuries in complete darkness, so he slid a hand over his limbs, searching for any signs of breakages. His right ankle was abnormally swollen, but he could move it with only minor pain, so it was probably just a sprain.

He ran a finger over the line of his ribs cautiously; they were definitely bruised, possibly cracked, but other than the slight tickle in his throat from all the dust his breathing was fine. But his back throbbed where it had been cut and was sticky to the touch. His shirt had been torn and the fabric clung to the bloodied flesh, tearing away with each bit of movement.

“Are you hurt?” Gavin asked, sounding groggy as he cleared his throat with a wet heaving cough.

“Nothing serious,” he responded. “You?”

“I don’t know. Everything hurts. I think I might have dislocated my shoulder,” Gavin admitted after a moment, his tone almost sheepish. Geoff frowned, gently running his hands along Gavin’s shoulders, massaging it carefully as he tried to feel what was going on internally. “The right one,” Gavin added.

“It doesn’t seem dislocated. Can you move it?”

“Yeah, it’s sore though,” Gavin grunted. “I can clench my fingers too,” he added after a moment.

“It might be sprained, but there’s no way to tell down here. Anything else?”

 “I don’t think so. Nothing that needs any immediate treatment,” Gavin said. Geoff hummed in acknowledgement. They had been lucky. Down here, anything that had the risk of incapacitating them could quickly prove to be fatal.

“Bloody hell, how’d this even happen,” Gavin huffed. Geoff frowned, reaching out to try and feel around Gavin’s head, searching for any sign of an injury. Gavin batted his hand away. “I know what happened idiot,” he pointed out, his eye-roll audible. “Just…how on earth did a creeper death cause all this…?”

“It wasn’t just the creeper. It set off the dynamite storage,” Geoff explained with a sigh.

“Dynamite storage? So this is definitely an old mine then.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“I guess the villages were right then,” Gavin mused. Geoff grunted.

“They also said there was a spawner in the cave, and that was complete bullshit,” he retorted. The only reason they had even gone to that cave was because all the villages were getting pissy that mobs kept raiding their city, and they were blaming the Hunters for not doing enough to control the monster population. “They probably lied about the spawner just so we’d waste precious redstone lighting this cave up just so they’d feel more secure,” he huffed.

“They were still right about the mine though.”

“They say a lot of stuff. Their bound to be right every now and again.”

“This mine must be well old to not even be on the maps,” Gavin said. There was the rustle of fabric and the scraping of rocks beneath him as he clambered to his feet. Geoff struggled to his feet after him, not wanting to be left alone in the dark. “I wonder why it was abandoned. And it was hidden!” He added excitedly, before he yelped and the next moment there was a loud thump.

“Gavin?” He called with alarm.

“It’s dark. I tripped,” Gavin said. Geoff huffed.

“You’re an idiot,” he said, just as his own foot caught on something and he stumbled forward, falling onto Gavin beneath him who let out an indignant squeak.

“Get off!” He squawked, flailing helplessly beneath him. Geoff rolled to the side allowing Gavin to scramble to freedom as he laughed. “I’m the idiot? You’re the idiot!” He retaliated.

“Eh, shut up,” Geoff replied, stumbling to his feet and brushing himself down. There was a long moment of silence.

“Should we…wait here?” Gavin asked. Geoff stared into the darkness where he thought Gavin was with furrowed brows. “Or like…do we try and move?”

“We move. The only way we get out of here is if we find a way out ourselves,” he replied.

“What?”

“There isn’t anyone coming for us, buddy.”

“They wouldn’t give up on us,” Gavin argued, but his voice was unsteady. Geoff sighed, tugging a hand through his hair.

“I’m not saying that. But how exactly do you think they’d get us out?”

“Well…Ryan would go back to Achievement City and get the others…” Gavin suggested hesitantly.

“Gavin, do you even realise how far we fell? We’re at least three drift levels deep, maybe more. The entire mine caved in around us. We don’t have the resources to deal with a cave in of this extent.”

“They could ask Burnie,” Gavin said. Geoff frowned, coming closer until he could feel Gavin’s breath ghosting against his cheek. As petulant as Gavin was starting to sound, he could feel how quickly he was breathing.

“Just getting a message to him could take days, let alone the time it would take to transport the equipment they would need. And that’s if they even consider it worth the effort.”

“What do you mean?” Geoff picked up on the way Gavin’s breath hitched as he tried to reign in control. Gavin’s tone was steady, and it might have fooled anyone who didn’t know him as well as Geoff did.

“We got lucky, considering. We had a lot of stop and starts. We didn’t fall all at once. But the others don’t know that. They’ll get a couple levels deep, maybe, and when they don’t find us they are going to assume the worst. And considering the fact this mine is unstable as dicks, do you really think they are going to go to all this trouble to retrieve what they’ll think are a couple of corpses?” He explained. “And even if they do keep going, they wouldn’t get to us in time.”

Gavin was silent.

“Gav, listen to me,” he reached out, placing a hand on Gavin’s arm, trying to ground him. “I’m not telling you this to freak you out, okay? I’m telling you this because I need you to focus on the actual problem, so we can find a solution,” he explained, sounding much more self-assured than he felt.

“How?” Gavin said abruptly. Geoff pursed his lips. “We can’t see anything, and that probably doesn’t even matter anyway, because everything is probably blocked off…”

“Okay, we know one exit is blocked. But there’s probably more. This mine is massive, so there must have been other ways the minors got in,” he theorised, taking a step closer so that they were brushing up against one another. Gavin went silent again, but this time Geoff waited, letting him process it.

“Yeah…There’s also a river nearby…” He added quietly, continuing only when Geoff stayed quiet. “It’s hot down here…so they must have needed some, like, cooling system, right? Maybe they…I don’t know, somehow got the water in here…or something…” Gavin stammered, stopping abruptly with a huff of frustration.

“No, you’re right. There may be a culvert leading into the river that might be accessible,” Geoff replied, scrunching up his nose as he tried to think. “At the very least, we have options to explore.”

“But we still can’t see,” Gavin pointed out.

“Then we move slowly and stick close to each other. We can feel our way around easily enough,” he suggested. Gavin hummed dubiously, echoing Geoff’s own doubt that he refused to verbalise.

“Which way do we go then?” Gavin asked.

“Whichever way isn’t blocked,” he replied. Gavin huffed, but kept his grip on Geoff as they started to move.

* * *

 

They shuffled along slowly, tentatively feeling the ground in front of them before stepping down with their full weight. They had reached two dead ends already; one right next to the transport cage, where it seemed that the debris had piled up and blocked their passage, and one further along the other way where a tunnel had twisted off into a passageway that seemed to just end at smooth rock. They had backtracked a lot.

Geoff held Gavin’s wrist the whole time. The other man had barely spoken and it was unsettlingly. Geoff could hear the way Gavin’s boots scraped across the ground as he dragged his feet listlessly, and he wished desperately that he could see other man.

Their pace was slower than he would have liked. His right ankle was throbbing with each beat of his pulse, and both his legs ached under the strain. Each step caused sharp pain to bolt up to his knees. He was certain that he had shin splints. And everything else seemed stiff and slow to cooperate, as though he was walking in a dream, his body seeming to trail behind his mental impulses.

“So, you get a million gold coins…” Gavin started tentatively, the sound abrupt and startling against the previous silence. “But every time you poo, right, it takes you, um, like three hours each time,” he finished with a strained voice, tripping over his words ever so slightly.

“Three hours per shit?” Geoff hummed, humouring him. “Nah, I wouldn’t do it,” he decided. There was a moment of heavy silence. Longer than was commonplace during their conversations.

“You wouldn’t do if for a million coins?” Gavin said after a moment with exaggerated surprise. Geoff huffed.

“Dude, do you know how much I shit a day? I wouldn’t have any time left,” Geoff pointed out. “Why, would you do it?”

“Yeah, probably. I feel like I could work my life around it.”

“What, like schedule your shits into your day?” Geoff laughed, rolling his eyes. “That’s stupid,” he added.

“Not for a million coins it’s not,” Gavin retorted smugly. “God, it’s hot down here,” Gavin said, abruptly changing the conversation and not giving the silence a chance to settle. Geoff grunted in acknowledgement, turning his focus back to walking forward without tripping after he stumbled slightly. “Why’s it hot underground?” Gavin pressed.

“I don’t know,” Geoff replied with a shrug. “That’s something to ask Ryan, He’s the geeky science one.”

“One of them scientists said that it’s because the earth’s like a baked potato.”

“That…that sounds like bullshit,” Geoff said, instinctively turning to send Gavin a dubious look, which of course was hidden in the darkness.

“Nah, it’s not!” He replied loudly. “The guy who did the temperatures, or something, that guy said that the earth, when it was made, was really hot, and it’s like a baked potato when you take it out of the oven. It’s cooled down on the outside, but it’s still warm on the inside.”

“That guy that ‘ _did temperatures’_?” Geoff mimicked, making his voice offensively high pitched, causing Gavin to squawk in indignation.

“It’s true!”

“Yeah, sure it is,” he said sarcastically, chuckling to himself. “Fucking baked potato.”

* * *

 

“Dude, let go off my hand a sec…” Geoff said, coming to an abrupt stop.

“What, why?”

“Aww, wittle gavvy wavy wants to hold my hand,” he mocked. Gavin grunted, embarrassed, and snatched his hand away. Geoff laughed.

“What are you doing?” Gavin asked, perturbed.

“I need a piss,” he said, unzipping his fly. He heard Gavin move away hurriedly, a strange hacking noise coming from the back of his throat. “Oh, calm down, you big baby.”

“It’s disgusting,” he grumbled. Geoff rolled his eyes and let loose. The noise was obscenely loud in the cramped space, and distantly Gavin started to gag.

“We’ve been walking for hours, what’d you expect?” He asked. “You grew up in the forest, you should be used to people pissing wherever. Don’t tell me Dan was ever discreet.” He said, finishing up with a couple shakes.

“It’s different. I never saw it,” Gavin muttered.

“You can’t see it now!” he pointed out, tucking himself back in and doing up his zipper with extreme caution “Gimme your hand again,” he said, wiping his hands down the front of his trousers.

“Absolutely not.”

“I can’t see you; we can’t risk getting split up just because you’re going to be a pussy about some piss,” Geoff said. Gavin huffed, stones clattering as he took a few steps closer. Geoff reached his arm out until he felt something solid and managed to grab onto Gavin.

“I hate you,” Gavin grumbled, sounding like a petulant child. In response, Geoff rubbed his other hand into the rough vicinity of Gavin’s face, managing to just catch him on the cheek, which was enough to make Gavin squawk and tumble away with a gagging retch.

“That’s for being a little bitch.”

“You’re an asshole! You…” Gavin stopped abruptly.

“What?” He asked with alarm, making his way to where he thought Gavin was. “What is it?”

“I think there’s a hatch here…It sounds like wood,” Gavin said, stamping his foot down, where the area underfoot was hollow. Geoff reached him, carefully lowering into a crouch as he felt around; the texture changed from rocky ground to smoother wooden planks. Near the edge was a curved groove.

“I think it’s a door,” he said. He curled his fist around the groove, his arms straining as he struggled to prize the door open. It was stiff and for a moment it refused to budge. It scraped reluctantly upwards a few inches, and then it tore open all at once, throwing dust and splinters into the air. He covered his mouth, stifling a cough as he strained his eyes uselessly in the darkness.

“What’s down there?” Gavin asked, falling into a crouch next to him.

“How the fuck would I know?” he replied. He reached a hand down, feeling along the edges of the opening. He brushed up against something metallic. “I think there’s a ladder.”

“Should we go down?” Gavin asked. Geoff griped what seemed to be the first rung and pulled experimentally, testing the strength and stability of the ladder.

“Yeah, I think so,” he replied. They hadn’t come close to finding any possible exits on this level. They might as well try another now that they had the opportunity. “I’ll go first. When I reach the bottom I’ll call you down,” he explained.

He carefully swung his legs over the opening and tentatively placed his least injured foot onto one of the rungs. It didn’t budge. With a shaky exhale, he placed his other leg on the same rung, shifting his weight so that he was prepared to jump back up if it started to break. It held steady. He waited a moment before lowering himself down and putting his full weight on the ladder.

“Geoff?” Gavin called. Geoff could hear Gavin moving about above him.

“I’m good,” he replied, starting to head down the ladder. “Stop moving around, I don’t want your stupid ass falling on my head,” he warned. Gavin huffed, but seemed to settle down.

His right ankle was throbbing, the pain sharp and disturbing. He twisted the joint experimentally; he could almost feel the bones grinding against each other as he did so. Both his legs were shaking minutely and even his left leg hurt, the pain present from the knee down, but it was his right ankle that flared up the worst.

A few moments later and he was touching down on solid ground once more. The pain dissipated slightly, but remained present. He could put weight on his ankle, but the pain was searing and almost unbearable. He shifted, so that most of his weight was on his left side, as it had been before he came down the ladder. It was slightly easier.

He didn’t think it was broken. But the sprain – he assumed it was a sprain – was severe.

“You can come down now,” he called up.

“Okay,” Gavin replied, and the ladder creaked as he started to make his way down.

Geoff rubbed at his eyes, a bead of sweat tricking down over his brow and irritating them. It was warmer down here; not suffocating, but the air was thick with heat. Above him was silence. He frowned, straining his ears to listen for Gavin’s descent.

“Gav?” He called, quietly so that he didn’t startle him. Gavin grunted and the ladder creaked again. He could hear Gavin breathing heavily, could hear him wheezing on the exhale.

It took him a while to get down. Much longer than it had taken Geoff.

Gavin dropped down with a heavy thump and Geoff reached out a hand to steady him.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m…I’m good, yeah,” Gavin replied, his voice shaky as he panted, struggling to catch his breath. Geoff quirked an eyebrow.

“Bullshit.”

“It’s just my shoulder,” Gavin said. “And my ribs. But there’s nothing we can do about it,” he added. Geoff hummed, lowering his hand so that he was loosely gripping Gavin’s wrist.

“Yeah, well, tell me if it gets worse,” he said, gently nudging Gavin along. The sooner they found a way out of here, the sooner they could get medical attention.

“Yeah? What are you going to do, carry me?” Gavin laughed.

“If I have to.”

“That’s stupid. You’re injured too,” Gavin retorted, with an underlying sharpness that was covered by a strained laugh.

“You weigh like 5lb. An injured cricket could carry you,” he said.

“Yeah, well, it’s just my shoulder. My legs are fine, unlike yours,” he muttered.

“I never mentioned my legs,” he said, his brows furrowed.

“I can hear the way you’re walking. You don’t normally walk like that,” Gavin explained. He sounded almost smug.

“Dude, did you memorise the way I walk? That’s creepy.”

“What? How is that creepy!? You can hear that I’m injured too!”

“Yeah, because you’re panting like a bitch in heat,” Geoff laughed. Gavin responded with a high-pitched disgruntled noise, which echoed loudly around the tunnel.

“You suck.”

* * *

 

“What time do you think it is?” Gavin asked, a force nonchalance in his tone. Loose pebbles scattered underfoot where the younger man dragged his feet with heavy and weary steps. Their pace had grinded down to a slow shamble and it was maddening. “Do you think it’s night now?”

“Maybe,” Geoff mused, rubbing his eyes and pretending that it was just the dust that was irritating them. Gavin hummed in acknowledgement but otherwise did not respond. “It can’t be that late,” he added after a moment of thought.

“Right,” Gavin responded, somewhat dubiously. Geoff furrowed his brows, trying to rework his calculations. Honestly there was no way to tell, but he was guessing that maybe seven hours had passed since the fall, which would put them at roughly 8pm. Not late at all.

“I don’t feel tired, so it can’t have been that long,” he said. “We should keep going for as long as we can,” he added softly.

“Yeah,” Gavin said. “How’s your legs?” He asked after a beat.

“They’re okay,” he replied with a shrug. He was limping prominently now, and he expected that Gavin had noticed. “What about your shoulder?”

“Fine,” Gavin said. “Dying for a drink though,” he added in a lighter tone.

“Yeah, no kidding,” he agreed with a huff. His own throat was parched and his mouth was uncomfortably dry, which was only aggravated by the dust which he continued to breathe in. “I hope this dust isn’t dangerous,” he said after a moment.

“Well, we’re still alive, so probably not,” Gavin replied dismissively. “Do you think Ryan’s okay?” He asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…Well, there was a cave in, right? Did he…did he get out okay, you reckon?” Gavin said.

Geoff was silent for a moment. He hadn’t even considered that. He wondered how long Gavin had been thinking about it.

“I think the cave-in was restricted to the mine, not the tunnels above…so yeah, I think so. Last I saw he was okay,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling a twinge of guilt. It was possible that the explosions could have caused the tunnel to collapse, but that tunnel system was known to be stable, so it should be unlikely. Still…

“Okay. Good,” Gavin said, only to continue, “Are you sure he didn’t fall down as well? I mean, you were right next to him, and you fell.”

“I didn’t fall. He wasn’t near the mineshaft, so I don’t think he did,” he replied, remembering Ryan attempting to pull him back; his memory painted lines of worry across Ryan’s face, his eyes ablaze with terror, which at the time he hadn’t noticed in his desperate panic to save Gavin.

Gavin was silent for almost a minute.

“What do you mean you ‘didn’t fall’?”

“I jumped in after you,” he replied. “I thought you knew that,” he added sheepishly. Next to him Gavin stiffened.

“That wasn’t clever,” he said, in a detached tone. Geoff laughed, despite the solemnness of Gavin’s response.

“Saved your life though,” he pointed out.

He could sense Gavin’s disapproval, but he didn’t care. He knew that he had made the right choice. Maybe not from an objective standpoint, maybe not from the way Ryan, and now Gavin, saw it.

But in terms of the fact that Gavin was still alive and not impaled on a metal rod, he had made the right choice.

Gavin just grunted and delved into silence.

* * *

 

“Geoff?” Gavin asked in a tentative voice, tugging on his wrist gently. Geoff came to a stop, turning towards Gavin on instinct despite being unable to see him. He could hear the ripple of fabric as the other man shifted. “Can we just take…I don’t know, like a couple of minutes to rest, or something…” He trailed off in a mumble.

“We really should keep going…” He pointed out, tugging a hand through his hair. Now that he was no longer walking the pain in his ankle had intensified, a sharp, burning sensation that caused him to bite down on his lip.

“Yeah, I know…” he trailed off again, his voice meek as he shuffled around. Geoff sighed.

“We can rest for ten minutes or so,” he relented. Gavin hesitated next to him, not moving as though waiting for him to change his mind. Geoff withheld another sigh, tugging him over towards the side and pulling them down. As he leaned back against the side he became aware of the cut that ran from his shoulder blade to just above his hip bone that he had until now forgotten about. He winced as it snagged on the wall.

Gavin pressed up against his side, grunting softly as he shifted, struggling to find a comfortable position when they were surrounded by hard, unforgiving stone. Geoff lifted his arm, pulling Gavin in so that his head was resting on Geoff’s chest. He brushed his hand up and down Gavin’s arm, his touch soft and soothing.

“You’re worn out?” Geoff asked, concerned.

“Aren’t you?”

“I guess,” he shrugged. He didn’t feel like he needed sleep; his brain, though slightly fuzzy from the pain in his body, was still sharp and wide awake. But he was drained. His whole body felt heavy, like he had gained several stone, and was having to learn to walk again in a body that was suddenly too large. “You’re breathing weird again.”

“It’s the dust,” Gavin replied, nestling his head further into Geoff’s chest and settling down. Geoff pursed his lips, his hand trailing underneath Gavin’s shirt and across his ribs, pressing in carefully. “Ow.”

“I’m just checking,” he said. “Where does it hurt?”

“My ribs aren’t broken. I already checked,” he replied, but grabbed Geoff’s hand and guided him lower, hissing lightly.  “I would have told you if I thought I had pierced a lung.”

“It feels like it could be cracked...But no, it seems okay,” he relented, moving his hand away, but still frowning. He wasn’t a healer; what little he did now he had learned during basic training, or through watching Jack work. He wished Jack was here. He would know immediately what was wrong.

His thoughts turned to the others. He wondered if they knew what had happened yet. Wondered what was happening back at Achievement City. How they were coping.

“Oi, wake up,” he said, tapping Gavin lightly on the face as the other man’s breathing slowed down. Gavin groaned.

“You said ten minutes. Let me nap for ten minutes.”

“You’re like a child.” He rolled his eyes and flicked Gavin on the ear, or at least he tried to flick him on the ear but missed and flicked his eyelid instead. “Fine, you can sleep. For ten minutes,” he agreed, amidst Gavin’s spluttered indignation about his eye.

Geoff hadn’t really expected him to properly fall asleep. But almost immediately he felt the other man go completely limp on top of him. He brushed a hand through Gavin’s hair, who shifted, murmuring something nonsensical and snuggling in closer. His head slid down until it was pretty much rested on Geoff’s lap. Gavin didn’t usually fall asleep so quickly.

Geoff let himself relax for a moment, settling down against the wall and trying to ignore the way the rocks pierced the skin of his back and clawed at the now throbbing wound. Being unable to inspect his injuries in the darkness was frustrating; he had no idea how deep the cut along his back was, not to mention the state of his ankle.

He sighed, mostly to distract himself from the disconcerting silence that now pressed in on him. The sound echoed around the tunnel.

He tried to count down the minutes, but his thoughts kept drifting, and he stuttered over the numbers, skipping forward or stumbling backwards, unable to cling to any sense of time. Three minutes passed, and then, in what seemed like it could only be a fraction of a minute, he had counted six minutes, only to lose his train of thought once more, and revert back to five minutes without even noticing.

After a while he forgot to keep counting and let his mind fill up with useless static, jumping from one unformed thought to another, noting but flashes of imagery and the odd word in his mind.

He jerked back to awareness suddenly, his chest heaving and Gavin’s name resting on his lips. He reached out for the other man who was still resting peacefully in his lap. He mentally shook himself, his brows furrowed as he tried to work whether he had fallen asleep, and if so, for how long.

There was no way to tell. It could have been just a few seconds or several hours. He ran a hand down his face, groaning heavily, infinitely more tired than he had been before, when a distant sound startled him fully awake.

Something was moving in the darkness.

He had to strain his ears to hear it; the initial clatter of stones quieted down to nothing more than a vague scrape of something moving across the ground, which would have been inaudible had he not been listening for it. He held his breath, unable to place the sound, which seemed to echo all around him. His skin bristled with goosebumps and his muscles tensed.

The sound stopped. A heavy silence replaced it. He exhaled slowly.

The silence continued but Geoff couldn’t quite relax. Perhaps it had been his imagination. Maybe the sound had been nothing more than the shifting of the destabilised earth. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be anywhere close to them.

He shook Gavin gently, trying to be mindful of his injuries as he shifted the younger man off his lap. Gavin groaned, mumbling something incoherent as he clung harder to Geoff’s chest, refusing to be displaced.

“Wake up, shithead,” he said, forgoing the gentle approach as he struggled out of Gavin’s grip, letting the other man fall to the ground with a thud. “Don’t be a bitch,” he added, clambering to his feet with great difficulty; he was forced to lean heavily on the wall to support himself as he got up. His ankle spasmed and pain shot up both legs. He gritted his teeth.

“Ugh,” Gavin said.

“We need to get moving,” he replied, pulling away from the wall and attempting to support his own weight. The pain was agonising, but not immobilising. “You slept for way longer than ten minutes.”

“Doesn’t feel like I’ve slept at all,” Gavin grumbled, but Geoff could hear him grunting as he forced himself to his feet, eventually reaching out and grabbing Geoff’s wrist. His grip seemed weaker than it had been before.

“Yeah, well we can sleep when we get out of this fucking mine,” he said, tugging Gavin forward with him. Irritation burned inside of him; he shouldn’t have let them stop, or at the very least, he shouldn’t have fallen asleep. Now he didn’t know how much time had passed. And the rest had offered them no benefit at all.

“Why are you being grumpy all of a sudden?” Gavin asked around a loud yawn.

“I’m not being grumpy,” he grunted.

“Yeah you are,” he said. “Are we going the right way?

“We’re going the same way we were before we stopped,” he replied. He had made sure to note which way it was before they had sat down.

“Do you hear that?” Gavin asked suddenly, his body stiffening as he came to a halt.

“What?” He replied, alarmed as he strained his ears, goosebumps caressing his skin once more. “Gav, what?” He repeated in a hushed tone.

“It sounds like…something dripping?”

“Dripping?” Geoff tilted his head, relaxing slightly as he took a step forward. Gavin made a quiet affirmative noise next to him. “Are you sure?”

“I mean, kinda? It sounds far away, real quiet like,” he said. Geoff frowned, unable to hear anything himself.

“Where’s it coming from?

“I can’t really tell. It could just be my imagination playing tricks on me, because I’m thirsty and stuff,” he trailed off for a moment, “But I think it’s coming from up ahead? I certainly didn’t hear it earlier.”

“Well, let’s try and follow it,” he suggested. He trusted Gavin’s senses more than the other man seemed to trust his own: he had discovered the trapdoor after all. You don’t grow up surviving in the forest without fine-tuning your survival skills, and Geoff would bet a lot of money that Gavin’s hearing was far superior to his own.

“It might be nothing,” Gavin added nervously.

“Could be. Or it could be something useful,” Geoff said, starting to move forwards once more. “Do you hear anything else?” He asked in an offhanded manner.

“Like what?”

“Anything,” he said with a shrug. Gavin paused for a moment, and Geoff narrowed his eyes, anxiety fluttering in his chest.

“Just us…” Gavin concluded eventually. “Why?”

“Curious, is all.”

* * *

 

“I can hear it too now,” Geoff said after they’d been walking for about ten minutes. The sound was still distant: just an occasional drip plopping onto the stone ground.

“Do you think it’s water?” Gavin asked. Geoff noticed that the other man’s breathing was shallow and coming a little too fast, making his voice shake ever so slightly.

“Can’t be sure, but I can’t think of anything else it could be,” he said, rubbing his hand across his forehead, which was slick with sweat and grime. “Probably won’t be safe to drink though.”

“We can boil it or something,” Gavin suggested.

“Might be a bit hard down here,” he pointed out. There wasn’t exactly a lot of wood underground, let alone anything to collect the water. “Hopefully though it’ll lead us to a culvert.”

“Being in the dark has really buggered us up,” Gavin muttered. “You would have thought the miners would leave some redstone torches or something.”

“Redstone is too valuable to leave behind.” He stretched out his arm, brushing his hand along the walls, able to feel slight, unnatural groves where said torches might once have been placed. 

“I wonder why they abandoned this mine anyway,” Gavin said. “Must have been ages ago if Burnie didn’t even know about it.”

“Yeah, it probably got closed before or during the war, and just got forgotten about I guess. Most of the documents and maps got destroyed. I bet there’s loads of places like this.”

“I reckon something bad happened here and that’s why it closed,” Gavin suggested, a contemplative lilt to his tone. 

“Why?” Geoff asked uneasily.

“It would explain why the mobs were swarming the area. If it had bad energy and stuff,” Gavin replied. Geoff scoffed.

“That theory is bullshit,” he retorted, rolling his eyes. “Mobs weren’t even swarming this area, the villagers were just being pissy bitches. We didn’t even find a spawner.”

“Mobs are attracted to dark energy,” Gavin argued.

“That’s superstitious bullshit.” He hated the theory. It got people riled up. And then they would demand the Hunters go to those places with supposed ‘dark energy’ to deal with the apparent threat, only to refuse to believe them when they told them that the mob population was average and that their resources were more desperately needed elsewhere.

“It could be true.”

“Yeah, well it’s not. The only thing mobs are attracted to is food and noise,” he reiterated. “Also, that whole bad energy bullshit doesn’t even make sense in the first place. Go back far enough and every place has had something shitty happen.”

“Hey, there are stupider theories!”

“What, like the earth being a baked potato?” He retorted sarcastically, laughing at Gavin’s indignant splutter. “Or that you could survive a fall from any height by running down a mountain?” He added with a sharp grin.

“You could!” Gavin huffed childishly.

“Oh my god, you’re so stupid. You’re a fucking moron,” he said, his voice laced with exasperation as he rolled his eyes.

The dripping noise was getting louder now, but it was difficult to judge the distance, as the sound was subtly distorted by the echoes of the tunnel. It sounded like it was coming slightly from the left. He was concerned that it meant that the tunnel was about to diverge at some point. In the darkness, it would be easy to miss.

The ground beneath him rumbled.

He didn’t have time to react before the ground he had been standing on crumbled. It parted like sand. Gavin nimbly jumped backwards as a gaping hole appeared and he tried to drag Geoff to safety, but his grip faltered with a loud yelp and Geoff fell with a gasp.

Fortunately, he only fell a few feet. And he slid most of the way; the debris had piled to create a shallow incline from the new hole. Nevertheless, he hissed, cursing loudly as he landed, falling onto his hands and knees as he crawled out of the rubble.

“Geoff!” Gavin yelled, his voice strained with worry. Geoff glanced up, managing to make out a shadowed figure as Gavin leaned over the hole.

“Gav, there’s light!” He yelled as soon as his disorientated brain caught up with what he was seeing.

He was in another drift level. Above him he could see the support planks- which had rotted with age and had been somehow damaged - which must have eventually given way under the strain of his weight. The remaining planks were enough to keep the rest of the earth at bay.

The tunnel he had landed in was large and up ahead he could see that there was a four-way crossroads. There were wooden frames at regular intervals helping to support the solid ground above them. The whole area was lit up with a dim red glow. 

He chewed his lip, a feeling of dread worming its way into his stomach as he observed the twinkle of unmined redstone lining the walls.

He turned to see Gavin slowly making his way down. Gavin hissed as he slipped on the loose stones and lost his footing; he slid down, barely able to control his descent at all.

“Is it just me who’s getting really bloody tired of falling down shoddy mines?” He muttered, before breaking off with a low gasp as he noticed the redstone. “Holy hell, this is a redstone mine!” He said, excitedly running his fingers along the rocks, his eyes glinting in the red light, making him look unhuman.  

“But it doesn’t make sense that they would leave so much redstone here…” He said, slowly getting to his feet. He glanced at his hands in the new light, wincing at the sight of them; his fingers were darkened with blue and purple blotches and a few fingers were torn or ripped away, whilst his palms were thick with dirt and caked blood.

“Well, good thing they did,” Gavin replied with a smirk. He knelt down next to one of the redstone ores, a contemplative look on his face. Nearby there were a few discarded tools. Gavin picked up an axe without a handle and carefully chipped into the ore.

Unmined redstone was incredibly soft. It had the texture of uncooked dough, and it was easily peeled away from the wall. In Gavin’s hand it shrunk, shrivelling up slightly as its form hardened into a distorted ball. Gavin held it up triumphantly, even though the light it gave out was miniscule.

“The light should last a while, even without an energy source, right?”

Redstone was a bizarre and poorly understood ore. Once mined, its light would dim, and unless it was connected to an energy source, it would continue to dim until it became just grey and hard and useless. Ryan had spent years studying it; he was probably the main redstone expert in the whole kingdom, and even he didn’t quite know how it worked.

“It’ll only last a few hours like that,” Geoff said. “It’s fucking weird that they left it here unmined though,” he added anxiously. Redstone was vital to their way of life, and it was incredibly difficult to find. It only appeared under a very specific set of circumstances, and they had not yet found a way to artificially replicate it. He certainly wouldn’t have left such a valuable resource behind.

“Hey, look! Pipes!” Gavin yelled, lifting the redstone above him with a slight wince, highlighting the stone pipes above. Further down the tunnel the pipes were connected to a hose and valve.

In the focused light, he caught a glimpse of white webbing. His heart froze, noting the thick weaves of webbing that lined the pipes and coiled upwards into the corners of the support frames.

“Gavin, get back here,” he warned in a low voice.

Gavin turned to look at him, brows furrowed in confusion, before he froze. There was a scuttling, clicking noise surrounding them and building into a crescendo

Geoff went to move towards Gavin, but was stopped as a long, unnatural leg scuttled into view. It was thin, but the tip of it was pointed, like a claw. A large black body, just slightly shorter than Geoff’s shoulders, swerved into view. The body was covered with thin, unwelcoming hair, which trembled and twitched.

 Sunken beady eyes stared out at him as its front legs and pedipalps shot upwards, giving him a better view of the black chelicerae at the front of its body, which rubbed together, producing an unsettling whirring noise. After a moment, the creature reared backwards and the chelicerae parted, revealing two curved fangs the size of his hand with dribbled with venom. Below the fangs were a curved line of sharp, twisting teeth which guarded the small black hole of its mouth.

The spider shifted its gigantic head between the two of them, its black eyes glinting with hunger as it sized them up. Gavin took a few steps back and the spider twitched, rearing its body back around towards the younger man. From the side tunnels a line of black rippling shadows slunk slowly into the light.

An army of legs stretched out around them as the legion of spiders seemed to merge together into one, horrifying black form. The legs were thin, seemingly too thin to hold their gigantic bodies, which shifted dramatically with each movement; power coursed through their bodies, and they parted their disgusting, unnatural mouths and gave a low, hungry roar.

“Gavin, run!” He yelled, the sound grabbing the attention of the spiders, who swivelled around to him, but as Gavin broke into a run, the majority of them turned sharply towards him, their back legs bending inwards before they pounced after him. They ran, their feet thundering on the ground like the gallop of horses’ hooves.

The rest hissed at him and he crept slowly backwards. A spider clambered to his side, scuttling up the wall and crouching there, like a coiled snake ready to strike. They were smart hunters and right now they were trying to circle him. He gritted his teeth, his legs throbbing as he turned and ran.

The spider at his side leapt towards him, crashing and tumbling into a curled ball as it missed, momentarily blocking the others from an immediate pursuit; but it was only a few seconds later that he felt the ground shake beneath him as hundreds of feet clawed their way towards him like an army.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

 

Gavin yelped, ducking out of the way as a barbed leg sliced through the air above him. His lungs burned as he put on another burst of speed. He could barely breathe.

Redstone was embedded intermittently along the walls, drowning the tunnel in red and casting grotesque shadows on the walls as the spiders continued their pursuit. The redstone he held in his hand had become harder and had already dimmed considerably.

He could hear the spiders behind him; their low hissing reverberated down his spine, causing goosebumps to ignite across his skin. They didn’t appear to be growing tired, whilst a sheen of sweat glistened on Gavin’s forehead as his body cried out for him to stop.

The tunnel was darker here; he could barely see the ground in front of him. If he tripped, or stumbled, he was done for.

From a junction, where his tunnel connected with another, a spider lunged at him. He skidded, flailing desperately out of the way as the legs of the spider grazed across his back. He twisted, dropping into a crouch and narrowly avoiding the fangs that soared towards him.

He jumped to his feet quickly and sprinted past the unbalanced spider as the colony behind him sought to close the gap. It was completely dark beside the meagre light of the stone in his hand.

The spiders clearly knew the area better than him. They could easily be leading him into a trap.

He turned into another junction, hoping that the gangly limbs of the spiders would prevent them from being able to turn with any speed. He continued to turn whenever he could; it was the only thing preventing the spiders catching up to him.

The adrenaline was not enough to distract him from the pain. His right arm was engulfed in pins and needles and he barely felt able to control it. His shoulders throbbed, the pain radiating down to his wrists and across his collarbone. His chest was on fire. He still couldn’t breathe properly and floating specs blotted out his vision as he became lightheaded.

A spider struck him across the back of his knee, and his legs buckled. He yelped, instincts roaring to life as he used the momentum to roll forwards, narrowly missing the fangs that lunged at him, before he scrambled back to his feet.

He couldn’t keep running. His lungs were going to burst. He needed to stop, but the spiders were unrelenting.

He turned into a new area; suddenly he was running across wooden planks as most of the tunnel was overtaken by artificial structures.  An old-fashioned sign, almost hidden beneath dirt and grime, had an arrow instructing him to turn right at the next junction. He didn’t know where it would take him, but he decided to follow it nonetheless.

He was slowing down. His muscles were shaking with lethargy but the spiders chased on after him unaffected. They were hunting him like a pack of wolves; wearing him out with the chase before making the kill, content in the knowledge of their superior stamina.

He knew little about cave spiders. He’d only encountered them a few times, and never alone, and certainly never unarmed. He knew that their joints were the biggest weakness, and that their underbellies, unlike normal spiders, were deceptively strong. 

And of course, he knew they were venomous.

He turned again, and now he was on a straight path. Distantly he could see a glimpse of metal at the end of the tunnel, but otherwise it appeared to be a dead-end. He kept running; as he got closer he could just make out that he was looking at an elevator shaft.

Of course, he wasn’t lucky enough that the elevator would be in a working condition.

The metal cage had bent inwards and there were piles of debris and large slabs of stone resting inside. A single twisted wire jotted out from the top of the cage into the black hole above, whilst the other wires had been cut and were now slung haphazardly across the floor like snakes in the darkness.

Still, he ran towards it.

Distantly he heard a growl – one that the spiders couldn’t have made - that seemed vaguely familiar, but he pushed the thought from his mind.

He leapt into the open elevator, the spiders not far behind. He was panting heavily as he struggled to pull the rusted door shut. He dropped the redstone on the floor, using all his weight to get the door to even budge. It groaned, screeching across at a pitifully slow speed whilst the muscles in his arms burned.

He only just got it closed as the spiders scuttled to a halt outside the door.

One spider lunged at him through the bars and he stumbled backwards; without his weight the door started to creak open once more. He cursed, looping his arm through the door and heaving it shut as the spiders tried to rush into the opening.

He heard the same growl again and in his periphery he saw a shadowed figure that was almost human. It was enough to distract some of the spiders who lunged towards the new creature.

Gavin ripped his belt from his trousers with one hand; he started to loop it through the frame and around the door, hoping that it would be enough to keep the door shut. He kept losing his grip. His hands were shaking too much.

And then fangs pierced through his forearm.

Shock seemed to descend and mute the pain momentarily as he clicked the belt in place. And then he panicked.

He screamed, about half a minute late, and yanked his arm away. The fangs, embedded deep into the flesh, tore through the skin as he ripped his arm away, leaving deep gashes that rapidly began to bleed.

It felt like his arm was on fire. And then he felt dizzy. And like he was floating. And in pain and unfeeling all at once. And then his whole arm went numb.

The spiders screeched at him. They slammed their bodies into the cage, making it rattle with a tremendous sound. He stumbled woozily and fell back against the rubble behind him. All that was keeping him alive was his frayed belt.

They reached through the bars with their legs, snaking towards his prone form, and he shifted as far back as he could. His vision was starting to blur and the spiders that surrounded him morphed into an indistinct black mass.

He was bleeding heavily.

He tried to take his shirt off so that he could wrap the wound, but his limbs weren’t cooperating. He gave up, sweat dripping down his face as his body started to tremble. With some difficulty, he managed to get his bleeding arm underneath his shirt and loosely wrapped.

The cage continued to shake around him. The belt was strained, near breaking, but there was nothing he could do as the world around him spiralled. He whimpered, fighting against the venom, before his head rolled back and he was dragged to unconsciousness.

* * *

 

 

Geoff didn’t make it far before the pain became unbearable. His right ankle felt like it was enclosed by a coil of rope which was pulling tighter and tighter, until it rolled out from beneath him and he fell. He collapsed onto a pile of debris from where the tunnel must have crumbled long ago and gasped, his eyes stinging with pinpricks of tears as agony overcame him.

The spiders were almost leisurely in their chase as they made up the gap.

He gritted his teeth, survival instincts kicking in as he grabbed a handful of rocks and threw it as far away from himself as he could. The spiders hissed, rearing towards the sound, before they paused, confused. He threw another rock, aiming for the same place as before, and the spiders roared, a few springing up onto their back legs as they tried to pinpoint the source of the noise.

He held his breath, biting down on his lip as he tried to stifle any noise. He knew that cave spiders, living predominantly in the dark, were practically blind. But they could pick up on the smallest sound and vibration, which meant that their senses were far too sharp for him to delude them forever by throwing rocks.

He started to search the debris for a makeshift weapon, keeping his movements as small as possible. But the spiders were turning towards him once more.

A few of them let out a tremendous hiss and he haphazardly hurled a handful of rocks towards them; it hit a couple on their heads and they scuttled back in surprise, whirring on the spot, clearly agitated.

His hand closed around a wooden support beam; or rather, what had once been part of a support beam. The wood was rotten, and felt slightly damp in his grip, but it was solid, and that was all he needed.

One of the spiders lunged for him, and he twisted around, shoving the plank of wood beneath its chelicerae to block its descent. The fangs scraped across the wood, splinters exploding outwards, and a slick ooze of venom dribbled down the beam. With his left leg he kicked out, aiming for the joint of the spider’s leg, who let out a screech of pain as its leg flopped uselessly and it stumbled backwards.

The rest of the spiders formed a defensive line as the injured member re-joined the ranks, backing away from him warily. He threw another handful of rocks, causing the spiders to scuttle around wildly, and whilst they were distracted he used the beam to heave himself back to his feet.

He almost fell again immediately. His right ankle refused to properly bear his weight and he was forced to use the beam – his only weapon – as a makeshift walking stick.

He limped backwards, keeping close to the wall of the tunnel to prevent being blindsided and swarmed. The spiders were twitching, clearly agitated as they shifted after him, keeping their legs curled in tight to their bodies in a sharp arch. They were being cautious and a few broke off from the colony to slink back into the shadows, seemingly deciding he wasn’t worth the effort.

But the ones who continued to follow him were becoming bolder in their movements, no doubt able to hear his irregular steps and figure out that he was injured. They stalked forward as one, but as the tunnel narrowed a few fell back until they formed two vertical lines, acting as an impenetrable wall.

He had the disturbing feeling that he was being herded.

He tightened his grip on the beam, ignoring the splinters that imbedded into his already scab-marred palms.

They were leading him into a dimly lit area, away from the soft glow of the redstone. For a moment, the ground beneath him was shrouded in darkness, but there was a glimmer of light behind him which distorted the shadows of the spiders into long figures that stretched up above him like a hellish mouth of teeth.

He threw a rock again but the spiders didn’t even pause. He chewed on his lip, edging backwards anxiously. He was breathing heavily and sweat drenched his face as he hobbled as fast as he could, trying to ignore the protests of his body. He risked a glance behind.

Above him the pipe narrowed and came to an abrupt end, where a small hole allowed the water to escape into the expansive lava pit below. The lava was enclosed by steep rocks, intermingled with stronger obsidian, and on either side a white beacon let out a small flickering light as warning. An old metal fence lay in a tangled heap to the side, exposing the lava which swirled slowly, bubbling on the surface like a strange magical concoction, and seeping back into the ground again.

There was nowhere left for him to go.

The spiders bristled with excited anticipation, whirring their chelicerae together and flinging their front legs into the air, ready to pounce.

For a moment exhaustion settled heavily on him; even if he survived, he would still have to endure what was probably a futile struggle to escape these tunnels. Not a single part of him was free from pain. His head was swimming and throbbing with the constant thrum of dehydration. Fatigue settled like a heavy weight in his core.

He considered giving up. Letting either the spiders or the lava consume him.

But he wasn’t alone down here. Gavin. Gavin could still be alive. He could still need help.

He leaned against the wall as he lifted the wooden beam into the air, swinging it in an arch around him to keep the spiders at bay. He haphazardly ripped a shred from his already torn jacket and wrapped it around the end of the beam.

He stretched the wood over the lava; the fabric of his jacket was set ablaze immediately. He brought the beam back and held it aloft as a makeshift torch.

The spiders hissed.

“Now what are you going to do assholes!” Geoff yelled, almost hysterical.

One of the spiders lunged at him. He cursed, twisting around so that he was pressed up against a small alcove, with the lava pit directly to his left. The spider leapt after him, rearing backwards so that only its strong and barbed underbelly was exposed.

He slashed the torch across the underbelly of the spider, making the creature screech with outrage as it seared the flesh. The spider lashed out with its front legs, the sharp claws slicing across his skin as he was forced to the ground with a gasp.

He struggled under the spider’s weight, its claws slicing deeper into his chest. With a low hum, it parted its chelicerae and swung for his neck with its venom laced fangs.

With a shout, he thrust the beam up and through the black hole of a mouth peeking out from beneath the chelicerae. The creature writhed as fire engulfed its mouth and crackled across its head.

The creature went rigid.

And then the smell of burning flesh descended upon him, almost enough to make him gag, and the spider let out a bone-shuddering screech.

It thrashed its legs into the air, as though trying to stop the fire that was quickly ravaging its body. The creature flailed in a blind panic and Geoff seized his chance; he flung himself at the beast, pushing it away with a desperate kick. The spider stumbled, its legs scrabbling uselessly against the edge but failing to find purchase as it slipped and fell into the bubbling lava below.

The smell was atrocious.

The lava gurgled and for one desperate moment the spider tried to save itself. Its’ legs flung up into the air, trying to shake off the molten liquid as it scraped at the pit’s edge, trying to pull itself out of the raging inferno. But even as it moved its skin was melting; the limb sizzled and the leg started to curl inwards, towards the belly of the beast. Like a morbid melting waxwork the creature was overcome by the lava: it hungrily consumed the previously fearsome monster, leaving nothing behind but the stench of death.

The other spiders watched him. He swung the torch in warning, and the creatures scuttled backwards. Without even looking at the final resting place of their fallen comrade, they unanimously turned around, slinking back into the shadows as they decided he was not a meal worth the risk.

With the spiders gone he collapsed against the wall, panting heavily as he tried to regain his strength. The adrenaline seeped away, zapping him of his energy and leaving his body weighed down with a bone deep exhaustion.

He stayed like that for a long time.

It was only the thought of Gavin that managed to get him moving again. He used the remains of the broken fence to heave himself upright, leaning heavily on the wall as he tried to avoid putting weight on his ankle. He kept the torch in his hand, unwilling to relinquish the one thing that the spiders feared.

The water continued to pour into the lava pit below. He tentatively reached out a hand, feeling the tiny sliver of water flow through his fingers. His throat was parched and his lips were dry, but he could see that the water was a murky brown; there was no way it would be safe to drink.  He did however splash some of the water over his face, and used it to wash away the dried blood sticking to his hands.

With the light of the torch he could see that his ankle didn’t look as bad as it felt. It wasn’t a compound fracture which was an immense relief. But it was significantly swollen, about three times its normal size, and the skin had taken on a grey discolouration and was further marred by black and purple blotches.  It seemed to jut outwards slightly.

He carefully lowered himself back down and removed the sock from his non-injured ankle. He pulled out a plank of wood from the fence, easily snapping it so that it was smaller, and pressed it up against his injured ankle, tucking it just underneath the sock. He wrapped the other sock around it, pulling it as tight as he could to keep it in place, and tying it haphazardly to the sock already on his ankle.

It was probably the least effective splint he had ever made. But it was the best he could do.

He struggled back to his feet and set off in search of Gavin, leaning against the wall the whole time in hopes of keeping the weight off his ankle.

His progress wasn’t exactly fast, but it was nice to have the faint light of the torch guiding the way. There were rough markings on the walls, numbers and abbreviations that he didn’t understand, and periodic groves in the wall where the redstone torches must have once been. There were also littered crates here and there, which he paused to look through, but found nothing but broken off handles and spare parts.

He reached the place where they had initially fallen, coming up short at the sight of a lone spider rifling through the debris. It glanced up at him as he approached, raising its front legs into the air aggressively. He lifted up the torch warningly. The spider regarded him for along moment, before dropping back down and returning to investigating the debris. He inched past the spider, keeping the torch held out towards it the whole time, but the creature seemed content to ignore him for now.

The path continued until he reached a four-way junction. He frowned.

“Gavin?” He called, knowing that there was little hope of a response. Geoff considered himself quite good at tracking, but there really was no way to tell where Gavin would have gone. He continued forward, hoping that at the very least it would be easier to backtrack this way.

He had to stop as a heavy fog pierced his brain and made him lightheaded. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily as his ankle pulsated with each beat of his heart. He felt like he was going to throw up; the walls of his throat convulsed, something thick and bitter seeming to coat the back of his mouth. He forced it down, feeling a surge of heartburn as he did so, but he knew that he needed to push on. Gavin could be in trouble.

He grunted as he heaved himself forwards ignoring the way that his limbs twitched and trembled. He lowered the torch slightly, keeping it in front of him as it dropped hot ashes to the floor.

He wondered briefly what the lava pit had been for. It seemed to have been artificially created. It was not too unusual for mines to have them: usually it was for disposing of broken equipment and unwanted debris. Occasionally they were used as a barrier where there was a risk that mobs might try to cross over and hunt the workers.

Sometimes, very rarely, lava when under the control of magic was used for quick but careless tunnel excavation. But that required a very powerful sorcerer, usually working with an enchanted object; even Ryan could barely maintain control over the flicker of a candlelight for a few minutes, let alone the course of lava.

Burnie had a legion of sorcerers in the main capital; mostly blood born mages who had been trained from birth and who worked together to focus their power into a single uniformed spell or task. These sorcerers were often used to aid infrastructure or agriculture, and sometimes did help to excavate mines to avoid the risk of human casualties. But using magic in such a…non-weaponised way was relatively a new thing. It certainly was only seen as a weapon before the war, and he doubted that this mine had been built after that point.

He could hear unusual sounds in the distance now; the low clattering of inhuman feet, a strange hum that drifted in and out of hearing, the running of water through the pipes. It was unsettling. It would have been much better if he had had Gavin to help distract him. Being on his own was almost unbearable.

His progress was agonisingly slow; how far did these tunnels stretch? To explore them all could take hours. Maybe days. So much time that they didn’t have. He needed to find Gavin.

He had been walking for several hours when his torchlight flickered over a shadowed figure curled up on the floor and his heart stopped.

“Gavin…” He whispered, forgetting all about his injuries as he ran towards the prone figure, falling to his knees with a pained grunt and scrambling forward the last few feet. The figure was huddled away from him and he turned it gently towards him, his heart hammering in his chest, only to fall backwards with a startled scream.

It wasn’t Gavin. Whoever it was had been dead for a long, long time. They were just bone now. The clothes were relatively intact, but still frayed and torn. It took him a long moment to recover from the initial shock. It wasn’t Gavin.

“How did you get down here?” He muttered.

The man’s (so he assumed by the attire) ribcage had been crushed, the bones broken off and jagged. It looked like it had been punctured, possibly by the fangs of the spiders, but it was hard to tell. He removed the man’s cloak, noticing the insignia on the pin; it was not one he initially recognised, but it tugged at him with some faint sense of familiarity. He had seen it before. It took him a while to remember where.

It was an old insignia, one that was no longer around, but had at one point been worn by the Hunters before they had achieved their current name and standing.

Most of the clothes had been torn and they weren’t really wearable anymore, but he took them nonetheless, thinking that they might indeed prove to be a useful alternative to bandages. As he removed the clothes he noticed that attached to the crumbled belt was a scabbard.

Geoff grinned, grabbing the hilt of what looked like a longsword and pulled, only to discover a sliver of twisted metal at the end, where the rest of the blade had been scorched black and melted. Withered.

The man had a withered sword. Geoff regarded the skeleton for a moment. How did someone survive the Nether with no armour, only to die alone and unknown in a fucking mine, killed by spiders just looking for a bite to eat?

There was something else attached to his belt which looked to be undamaged. Geoff unstrapped it and pulled it free.

It was a rather old and rudimentary redstone-torch. The circuitry was visible through the glass casing, and rather than a more compact and simple button, there was a large lever attached to the side. Unlit redstone ran down each side of the torch, rather than just at the top, which was more common nowadays. Despite the outdated technology, it was still a fucking miraculous find.

He cranked the lever, finding that it worked more like a pump, and it took a couple of minutes before any light managed to splutter out, but it was bright and provided a welcome release from the darkness. He pumped the lever for a few minutes longer, until it was shining at full power, before very carefully stamping out his old torch which had been on the verge of burning out anyway.

A pouch was also attached to the belt and he grabbed it, searching through the contents eagerly. There were lots of old bottles and vials which had been emptied, but still shimmered with the faint trace of whatever potion had been inside. There was a small, mostly used roll of bandages which he regarded for a moment, before deciding that Gavin might have more use for them.

He then pulled out an old filtering system and almost punched the air in excitement. It wasn’t as good as the filtration straws they had, but at least now they could actually get some water. He rummaged further, hoping that the man may have stocked some food, but there was nothing but empty packages and old crumbs that he briefly thought about trying to slurp up.

Lastly, there were a few potion vials that were still full. He lifted them up to the light, swishing the thick liquid around. The vials had a measuring scale on the side and the dosage seemed to be very exact. He hoped to find a healing potion, but anything that useful must have already been used up by the man.

There were however three potions of endurance and a single potion of invisibility. He downed one of the endurance potions immediately, pocketing the rest for later as he attached the pouch to his own belt and struggled to his feet.

The potion of endurance warmed his blood, washing away the aches and pains, and he managed to stand, placing his weight on his injured ankle without any discomfort.

But potions of endurance were not…good. They weren’t going to heal him. It was the equivalent of loading up on pain killers to run on a broken leg.

It would help him in the short run. But chances are it would aggravate his injuries further, and when the potion wore off, he would be left much worse for wear. There were numerous cases where endurance potions had been misused, only for the person to die immediately from their resulting injuries when it wore off.

Potions of endurance were hard to come by for that reason. They were really only meant to be used by medical professionals, and both Jack and Ryan, and everyone within the capital and the outlining cities restricted their use tremendously.

But he needed to get moving. He could rest and heal when they were both free from the tunnels.

He could still feel his heart beating in his chest as he moved carefully towards one of the water access points further down the tunnel. There was still some pain, but it lingered at the edge of his consciousness, washed away by the potion which descended over him like a thick haze. He felt wide awake; absolutely rejuvenated, a new spark of energy taking hold of his form.

He still tried not to put too much weight on his leg.

He turned the valve and fed the hose into the empty jars, emptying out the remains of the potions before he started to fill them. The water must be coming from a natural source if it was still flowing after all these years, when pretty much everything else in the mine had crumbled from disuse.

Eventually the jars filled up, and he activated the filter and placed it in one of the jars. It would take about half an hour before the water was safe to drink, but for now the endurance potion masked his rapidly building thirst and gave an artificial feeling of refreshment to his dry, cracked lips and aching throat.

* * *

 

 

The potion was beginning to fade when he eventually found himself on the right path. He had been wondering desperately when his torch had managed to pick up on a crumbled form partially hidden by the metal cage of the elevator and the darkness which his redstone torch could not fully penetrate.

A low guttural noise escaped his throat, his mind cast back to the corpse he had already seen slumped over and shadowed in a similar way. He sprinted forwards, pain shooting up his ankle as the effects of the potion dwindled. He gripped the bars of the elevator and for a moment he couldn’t understand why it refused to open.

“Gavin?” He called. He recognised the brown hide of his belt looped around the door frame, but any thoughts of the other man’s intelligent escape were drowned out by the worry that consumed him when Gavin failed to respond.

He untied the belt and the door swung open of its own accord with a low aching groan. He lodged the redstone torch in the twisted metal bars as he crept towards the other man. From here he could just see the stuttered rise and fall of the other man’s chest, and he exhaled slowly as he crouched down next to Gavin.

Gavin murmured, inarticulate words dripping half-formed from his lips as he shifted under Geoff’s gentle touch. Geoff twisted Gavin towards him so that he was lying on his back. In the light of the torch he could make out the scrapes and bruises that marred his face and dotted the side of his neck, turning into large red-veined blotches around his shoulders and down his arms.

There was blood. Both old and new. Geoff frowned, noting the pool of blood on the heavy stone slab where Gavin had been resting, which looked even more stark and dramatic in the red light of the torch. He carefully picked up the other man’s arm, almost dropping it in shock as Gavin hissed sharply, his eyes snapping open.

His pupils were dilated and his eyes flickered wildly; Geoff could feel the way his muscles tensed as he tried to pull his arm away from Geoff’s grip, but there was no strength behind the movement.

“Gav, shh, it’s just me,” he whispered, brushing his palm across the other man’s forehead, which was slick with sweat and burning hot to the touch. Gavin stared at him, blinking forcefully a few times before his eyes managed to settle on Geoff’s face, even whilst his brows furrowed in feverish confusion.

“Geoff?” He murmured, before delving into a muddled spiel, something delirious and panicked to his words, which quickly became inaudible save the faint rising and falling inflection. Geoff glanced at him, his eyes on Gavin’s lips which were twisting rapidly around the inarticulate words. He couldn’t make sense of them, so he merely grunted and attempted to calm the restless man, who seemed unaware that he wasn’t being heard.

Gavin went quiet as Geoff started to investigate his arm. Geoff’s eyes widened at the sight and he let out an involuntary hiss. The actual wound was hidden beneath the blood and the accompanying dark ooze that dribbled slowly from the cut. He retrieved the purified water from his pouch, cupping a small amount into his palm, which he gently splashed over the wound.

The blood and ooze washed away, revealing the jagged edges of the wound.

The point of entry was obvious; the fangs had pierced deep and blood continued to seep forth even now. It was however starting to clot, but strings of flesh clung to the wound, forming a gruesome grove where the fangs must have been torn from the flesh.

The venom shouldn’t be lethal. Not with just one bite. But there was always that risk, that slight uncertainty.

Gavin had fallen unconscious again.

Geoff carefully lifted Gavin’s head, opening his jaw and helping the unconscious man to swallow a few sips of water. Dehydration would not help his recovery.

He used the rest of the water for cleaning the wound. He pulled apart the edges of the wound with his fingers, pouring the water into the cut and trying to ignore the little murmurs of pain escaping Gavin. Most of the venom had probably already spread, but he took some relief in the amount of black ooze that gushed out.

He ripped off a small piece of fabric from the torn sleeve of the clothes he had stolen from the corpse and soaked it in water, before applying it to Gavin’s forehead which was still burning hot with fever. He then searched through his pouch and found the small roll of bandages, wrapping it around the wound, barely able to cover it twice.

Geoff sat back on his hunches. There was nothing else he could do. He could hear Gavin wheezing in his sleep, a high-pitched whistle accompanying each shallow exhale. He eyed the remaining potions of endurance in his pouch.

It would be far too dangerous to use them. They might get Gavin back on his feet for an hour or so, but he was pretty sure that the fever was the body’s way of fighting the venom, and if the potion removed the symptoms, then the venom may well spread without resistance. It would effectively be like shutting down his immune system.

He sighed. He got Gavin to drink the last bit of the purified water, before collecting more from the access point just next to the elevator. He limped back towards Gavin and settled down next to him, watching carefully for any sudden changes.  

* * *

 

 

Geoff groaned. He felt like his eyelids had been sealed shut and a heavy grogginess had overtaken his body as he was dragged back into consciousness by a persistent shaking. He didn’t even remember falling asleep.

“Geoff?” Gavin’s voice broke through the fog in his mind. Geoff rubbed at his eyes, forcing them open and glancing at the other man blearily.

“Gav…How are you feeling?” He asked, pressing his palm to Gavin’s forehead, which was still warm, but not as hot as it had been. Geoff scanned Gavin’s body, noting the way that his bandaged arm curled into his chest whilst the right arm hung limply. His pupils were still dilated and hazy, and dark bags sagged heavily beneath them.

“I’m fine,” he responded abruptly. “What about you?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Geoff shrugged, shifting into an upright position, which prompted Gavin to throw his arms out as though to try and stop him, only for a flash of pain to cross his face as his arms dropped like lead weights. “Relax buddy, don’t hurt yourself more.”

“Geoff, you’re not well,” Gavin said, his brows pinching together. “Your leg…”

“It’s just sprained,” he replied.

“That’s not true!” Gavin snapped, eyes suddenly sharp. “Your leg is fucking broken, Geoff!”

“There’s nothing we can do about it now,” he replied after a moment of deliberation, something stirring uneasily in his chest at the uncharacteristic display of aggression. Gavin huffed, his nostrils flaring. “We can’t stay here. We’ll just have to find a way to keep moving. There’s nothing we can do until we get out of these mines.”

“Have you drunk anything yet?” Gavin asked, passing him the bottle of filtered water, which had been resting on the stone slab where Geoff had left it. Geoff rubbed the bridge of his nose, grabbing the bottle and taking a few sips, which quickly turned into gulps until he forced himself to stop, fearful of vomiting.

“How long have you been awake?” He asked, his lips pressed to the bottle which was cool in the burning warmth of the mines. He realised that the pouch was missing from his side and was instead piled beneath his ankle alongside the clothes from the corpse in a haphazard attempt at elevation.

“An hour or so,” Gavin said. “I’ve been kind of drifting in and out for a while. I still feel bloody minging, but most of the venom should be out of my system by now.”

“So, are you ready to start moving?” He asked. Gavin didn’t look good, but they had already lost a lot of progress. They couldn’t stay here.

“Any ideas as to where?”

“Up, probably. I’m going to try and follow the pipes. I think you might be right about the culvert considering the water is still running,” he explained, passing the bottle over towards Gavin who started to down it rapidly. “Don’t make yourself vomit,” he warned, taking the bottle back.

“Where did you get all the stuff?” Gavin asked, his eyes flickering to the torch still lodged between the metal bars, his brows furrowing as though the thought had only just occurred.

“It was weird. I found a dead guy with it. Don’t ask me what he was doing down here,” he explained, shifting over towards the metal bars and using them to hoist himself up, where he balanced precariously on one foot. Gavin’s eyes narrowed.

“I think he came from the Nether,” he suggested in a slow and carefully measured tone. Geoff’s gaze snapped towards him.

“How’d you know that?”

“There were zombie pigmen here earlier. I think. Maybe I was tripping or whatever, but that’s what the spiders went after. I think I saw them,” he said uncertainly.

“Fuck me,” Geoff muttered, brushing a hand through his matted hair with a low groan of frustration. “I think you’re right. He had a withered sword. Fuck. There’s probably a portal down here. Shit on a dick dude.”

“If it’s only zombie pigmen we should be fine,” Gavin suggested, struggling to stand up with the limited use of his hands. “They usually just ignore us.”

“I’m more concerned about why there is a portal down here,” he sighed. These mines were beginning to make him more and more uneasy. “At least we know what the spiders are eating I guess.”

“This place is weird,” Gavin said, hobbling over towards him. “You can lean on me,” he offered, stopping next to him.

“You weigh like a pound, I’ll crush you,” he said, but despite his reluctance to put any weight on Gavin’s injuries his legs were still throbbing and he only had two bottles of endurance potion left. He slung his arm around the other man’s shoulder, feeling Gavin stiffen beneath him as he tried to support his weight. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just go slow,” Gavin replied, nudging him into moving.

He could hear Gavin panting heavily, and could feel the slight tremors that trickled through his body under the strain of his weight. Geoff’s leg was dragging uselessly behind him, a swollen mass that was no longer under his control. His other leg still ached, and the pain radiated up to his hips and lower back.

“Maybe the portal would be a better exit...” Gavin mused after a moment, a slight wheeze to his voice.

“We’d die within seconds in the Nether,” he said, “And there’s no way of knowing where another exit portal would be.” The Nether was perilous even when fully armed, let alone when weak and defenceless.

“At least we know there is a portal though,” Gavin responded, gritting his teeth. “There might not even be a culvert, or at least not one big enough for us.”

“The Nether would still be the last resort. The culvert is our best option,” he said. Gavin grunted, worrying at his bottom lip with narrowed eyes. “We’ll find a way,” he added, with enough confidence and determination that Gavin glanced at him, brows pinched together in confusion.

“Well, can you find a way up that ladder?” Gavin said, as they turned into a small cavern. A ladder was embedded into the wall, leading up towards a trap door, alongside a rudimentary pully system, presumably for transporting small loads.

Geoff pursed his lips.

“I can get up there. I just need to find a way for you,” he said. Gavin quirked his eyebrows, doubt lacing his face as he stared up at Geoff expectantly.

“Your foot is broken.”

“God, stop being a pessimist,” he replied, nudging Gavin forward so he could limp over towards the wall, which he used to prop himself up. “See if you can get that rope,” he suggested, gesturing towards the pulley cable.

“Why?” Gavin questioned, walking over towards the pulley system with a frown. The rope was tangled around an old and cracked container, which reached to just below Gavin’s waist. The rope continued to an anchor point in the floor, and disappeared into the ceiling above, where another trapped door could be opened to allow the container through.

“I can use it to pull you up,” Geoff replied, rolling his eyes at Gavin’s dismayed look. “Do you have a better idea?” He retorted.

“This is stupid,” Gavin grumbled, tentatively testing the strength of the frayed rope. “I don’t even have anything to cut the rope with.”

“Use a rock or something,” he replied, sinking down to the floor and stretching his leg out with a barely concealed groan.

“How are you going to pull me up? You’re too injured,” Gavin said, spinning around towards him, something almost accusing in his gaze. Geoff sighed, rifling through his pouch and retrieving one of the endurance potions. Gavin eyed it suspiciously, but there was no recognition in his gaze.

“I found a temporary healing potion on that dead guy. It’ll give me the strength to get up there,” he explained. Gavin approached him, crouching down on his knees to examine the cloudy liquid.

“If we share it…”

“No, it interacts with spider venom,” he lied, snatching the bottle back. Gavin blinked, but gave a curt nod. He had taken the chance that Gavin wouldn’t recognise the liquid, nor question Geoff’s assertion about it. Gavin hardly knew anything about magic, even less than the average person. But he might still have recognised a potion of endurance by name.

“How long will it last?” Gavin asked, beginning to scour the cavern for anything sharp enough to cut the rope.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted, honestly this time. He knew that the entire bottle was roughly an hour and a half, but quantity of potion didn’t necessarily equal quantity of time. There was an equation, regarding potency and amount and how that qualified to time, which he knew existed, but could not remember. It was something that Ryan would know.

“I’m only going to take half for now,” Geoff said, raising his voice as Gavin disappeared further into the shadows. He did not think that anything less than half of the bottle would be potent enough to have any effect. But if half the potion was enough, it should last for at least twenty minutes or so.

He would lose time overall, but it was probably best to save the potion for as long as possible, rather than using an entire bottle at a time.

Gavin reappeared after a moment and approached the rope, pressing a slab of rock against it. His tongue poked out minutely as he concentrated heavily on cutting the rope, wincing with each twist of his wrist. He stopped, rolling his shoulders back, before continuing again. It was clear that he was struggling to grip the rope and saw at the same time.

“Let me do that,” Geoff suggested, brows pressed together in concern as he watched Gavin switch to trying to cut it with one hand. Gavin dropped his arm immediately, relief flashing across his features as he flexed his hand. “Here, help me up.”

Gavin crouched beside him and Geoff wrapped one arm around his shoulder and the other across his chest. Gavin hissed, slowly and unsteadily getting to his feet and struggling to support Geoff’s weight. Geoff tried to keep most of his weight on his good foot and off Gavin, but his movements were too sluggish and everything hurt a bit too much, and he was left leaning almost completely on Gavin.

“Sorry,” he said, as they both took a moment to regain their breath.

“You need to go on a diet,” Gavin said, flashing a small smile. Geoff twisted his nipple, laughing manically as the younger man yelled, shooting him a betrayed look. The movement almost made them both topple over again, but it was worth it.

“I’ll have you know I’m in prime physical condition,” he retorted.

“I can drop you anytime you know,” Gavin pointed out, handing the rock over to him as they hobbled towards the pulley system.

“And I’ll fall on you,” he warned with a grin, starting to saw the rope whilst balancing precariously on one leg.

“And you’ll crush me because you’re so fat,” he retorted quickly, poking his fingers into Geoff’s belly, which considering the fact that he hadn’t eaten for a few days, was much firmer than usual.

“See, prime physical condition,” he grunted, even as he felt a wave of nausea wash over him at the physical exertion.

“All I feel is flab,” Gavin responded, pinching the flesh between his fingers. Geoff hissed, nudging him gently with the back of his elbow.

“I will fucking leave you down here if you don’t stop,” he threatened and Gavin laughed, brushing his fingers across his side and eliciting a sharp giggling-squeak at the ticklish sensation. “Gavin, I swear to fucking god!” He hissed, terrified of losing his balance, when finally, the rope snapped.

“What? You started it,” Gavin replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes as Geoff shot him a withering look.

“Get the fucking rope,” he muttered, pushing away from Gavin as he lowered himself to the floor.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Gavin asked, carefully guiding the rope through the anchor point and detaching it from the container which clattered to the ground.

“Yeah. It’s not like I’m taking your entire weight, you can still use your legs on the rungs,” he pointed out as Gavin passed him the rope. It was long, about 5 feet roughly, and seemed to be sturdy enough. “Sit in front of me,” he said, parting his legs to give the other man space.

“This is weird,” Gavin said, shifting his weight around as he sat down. Geoff huffed, worrying on his bottom lip as he tried to figure out how best to do this.

“You need to face me,” he said. Gavin made a low noise of frustration, turning to sit on his knees in the space between Geoff’s legs. His body was stiff and a flush of colour adorned his cheeks. “Dude, don’t be a fucking baby.”

“I’m not! It’s just uncomfortable,” he mumbled. Geoff rolled his eyes.

“You’re an idiot,” he responded, taking a length of rope between his hands and looping it a couple of times around the other man’s abdomen, before tying it securely. Gavin brushed his hand across the rope, slipping a finger under the loop and giving it an experimental tug. “Is that tight enough?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good.” He grabbed the potion from the pouch and uncorked it. Gavin wrinkled his nose; the liquid was pretty much colourless, aside from a faint blue hue. He swished it gently, watching the viscous liquid move slowly, oozing against the side of the glass.

“That looks minging,” Gavin said, leaning forward, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Geoff retrieved one of the empty glasses and poured half of the liquid into the new container, holding them side by side for comparison. He recorked one bottle and placed it back into the pouch.

“I’ve drunk worse,” he said and downed it in one. The potion didn’t really have a taste; it was all texture and it slurped down his throat, seeming to cling to the sides of his oesophagus, where it seeped down slowly into his stomach, making him feel faintly bloated. He cleared his throat, waiting to see if he had taken enough for it to work.

After a moment, the familiar tingle seeped into his muscles, making them feel light and his movements seem effortless. The pain washed away and suddenly his head felt clear like his thoughts had suddenly been untangled from the sludge in his mind. He could no longer feel the painful throbbing in his ankle, or the aches that had crept into his bones.

“Did it work?” Gavin asked dubiously. Geoff nodded, clambering to his feet and using the wall for support even when his leg did not immediately give out. Gavin rose to his feet also and Geoff took the remaining length of rope and wrapped it around his own midsection, securing them together. “It doesn’t look like anything has changed…”

“It’s only a temporary healing,” he replied dismissively. “Come on, let’s move whilst the potion is still working.”

“I thought it would be more dramatic,” Gavin murmured, hobbling after him. “Like sparks and stuff.”

“When has a potion ever sparked?” He retorted.

“They do in stories…”

“Somewhere, Ryan is crying at your stupidity,” he mocked. “Let me go first, and then follow me up as best you can,” he instructed.

He took a couple of steps up the ladder before the rope around his waist pulled tight and he glanced down expectantly. Gavin chewed on his bottom lip, before hesitantly lifting one leg onto a rung, his arms hovering in front of the ladder as he tried to balance himself. He quickly got his other leg up and leaned forward, grabbing onto the rungs with his hands even as his face twisted with pain.

“You good?” Geoff asked, waiting for Gavin to move from his precarious position. Gavin grunted in response, his arms trembling as he tried to lift himself up, before he hissed and lowered them back down to his sides when it became apparent they wouldn’t take his weight. He scooted forward so that his chin was touching the wall behind the ladder and very carefully lifted himself up using just his legs. “Gav?”

“I think I’ll end up slipping,” Gavin admitted, flashing him a sheepish smile, which faded rapidly as he saw the distance still left to climb.

“Should I carry you?” He offered. Gavin narrowed his eyes, glancing away as he huffed.

“No, I’ve got it,” Gavin responded, clenching his jaw and reaching up with his bandaged arm, whilst his other arm was pressed uselessly against his chest; Geoff couldn’t tell if Gavin was trying to move it, or if it was just twitching and trembling of its own accord. Gavin managed to get high enough to let the rope go slack before he went limp against the ladder, panting heavily.

“It’d be easier if I carried you,” Geoff pointed out, aware that the potion would only last so long.

“I’m fine,” Gavin muttered. Geoff felt the ladder shake as the other man moved further up and he could hear the way his worn shoes squeaked over the rungs as he struggled to keep his footing. “I once climbed up a ravine with a dislocated arm,” he claimed, grunting softly.

“That sounds like bullshit,” he replied, indulging him as he continued to climb, trying to match Gavin’s slower pace.

“Technically, it was a ravine. Just not a very big one.”

“Was your arm even dislocated?”

“Yeah, that part’s true. You can ask Dan about that,” he said, his voice becoming shaky as he struggled to catch his breath. “It was only a few feet up.”

“Why climb it in the first place?” He asked, but Gavin did not respond. He chewed on his bottom lip, the rope around his waist going taut as he neared the top. He could hear Gavin’s laboured breathing below. “Gav?” He called, unable to climb further without dislodging the other man.

“Give me a moment,” he said in a strained voice. Geoff nodded. He could still feel the steady thrum of potion through his body like a pulsing heartbeat, but beneath that was the lingering weakness from his injuries threatening to break through. He could not tell how much longer the potion would last.

“I was being chased and there was nowhere else to hide or go,” Gavin said after a moment.

“What?”

“Why I climbed it. Didn’t really have a choice,” he explained with a huff. The rope around his waist loosened slightly as Gavin started climbing again. “I don’t know why. Think they were trying to rob us. Or they were slave traders. Either way they were bad.”

“You were being chased by people?” Geoff asked, unable to help the slight spike in his pitch, something fierce and protective coiling in his gut. Gavin gave a breathless laugh, slowly stepping up another rung.

“It was before I met you,” he said. “Bit late to worry about it now. Years ago.”

“Still,” Geoff murmured, carefully pulling himself up further. The trapdoor above was just out of reach. “We’re almost there,” he called. Gavin merely grunted.

He waited where he was, twisting his neck to glance down at Gavin. The younger man’s brows were furrowed in intense concentration even as sweat dribbled down his forehead and his body trembled. His arms were barely moving.

“I’m going to try and get the trapdoor open,” he said taking another step up and being careful not to jolt Gavin beneath him. He stretched up, pressing his palms flat against the door and trying to push it open.

It budged slightly, a thin stream of dust falling past him, but otherwise it seemed to be stuck. He gritted his teeth. He needed a better position to give himself the leverage he needed to push it open.

“Gav, I need you to move up,” he said. Gavin was resting his head against the ladder and when he glanced up his eyes glinted in the red light of the torch which hung loosely from Geoff’s belt. There was something very unnatural about the eyes that seemed to glow and the unusually pale face.

Gavin didn’t speak as he climbed further.

The rope loosened again as the distance between them shortened and Geoff quickly took another step. This time he managed to move the door by a few inches, but he simply did not have the momentum to open it fully. He probably wouldn’t be able to open it until he was at the very top of the ladder.

“Sorry,” Gavin murmured, his body seeming to deflate as he exhaled sharply and flopped forward, barely clinging onto the ladder as his muscles shook. “I just need a minute,” he added.

“Just wait there for a moment then,” Geoff called. The potion was still coursing through his system but his foot had started to throb and he was getting irregular and uncontrollable muscle spasms in his thighs. He needed to keep going.

He untied the rope around his waist and secured it as best he could to the frame of the ladder whilst Gavin looked up at him blearily. Quickly he climbed the last few steps and heaved the trapdoor open.

He wasted no time in clambering upwards where he landed heavily on his knees. He found the pouch, quickly rummaging through it for the remains of the potion and downing the half empty bottle in one swift movement.

“I’m going to pull you up,” he said, heading back down the ladder where he reattached the rope around his waist. Gavin grunted in acknowledgement but otherwise stayed silent. “Try to support yourself with your legs. If it’s too much tell me to stop, okay?”

“Okay, yeah.” Gavin said.

Gavin hissed as the rope went taut but Geoff kept going. He had tied it in such a way that the loop wouldn’t get smaller, so he wasn’t cutting off any circulation, but the sudden addition of Gavin’s weight would have been enough to knock him off the ladder if the potion had not been burning its way through his system.

Despite the added difficulty it was far quicker this way. He could hear Gavin’s feet scrabbling to find enough purchase to help Geoff with the climb, but it was clear that the younger man was struggling. But eventually Geoff managed to clamber through the trapdoor and pull Gavin up after him.

Concern blossomed in his chest as Gavin flopped down and started to dry heave, gagging on the bile that clogged his throat. Geoff crawled over next to him, rubbing him on the back with one hand whilst he untied the rope with the other. He could feel the younger man shaking beneath him, and now there was a worrying wheeze accompanying the gags that racked his body.

Geoff lifted up the torch and examined Gavin carefully. He was still deathly pale and was dripping with sweat. His eyes were screwed up but he could still see that they were red and puffy.

It could have been the spider venom. The initial effects of the venom wore off after about twelve hours or so, but usually resulted in the need for bedrest for at least a week afterwards. It could easily be a mixture of that and overexertion.

Or it could be something more concerning; some internal injury they had missed.

 Either way, movement was aggravating it and he had no way to treat it.

The gagging had died down slightly, more like pained hiccups now, and Gavin flopped desperately into his touch. Geoff murmured softly, pulling the other man further into his lap and gently wrapping his hands around Gavin’s slender waist.

Gavin groaned, nestling his head into Geoff’s side. Geoff brushed a hand through the younger man’s hair which was matted with dirt and sweat. He could feel the heat brushing up against his palm.

“You still have a temperature,” he mused. Gavin grunted. “We need to keep moving though.”

“Yeah, yeah I know,” Gavin said, his joints creaking as he crawled backwards, crouching on his hunches and taking the time to breathe. He was still wheezing and clutching at his chest where he sat hunched over.

Geoff raised the torch, giving a strangled, humourless laugh as he took in the surroundings. They had come out into a tunnel, where the walls were smooth and wooden rafters stretched across the length at regular intervals. The tunnel stretched into shadows on either side and above them, slightly further to the side, was another ladder leading up to the next level.

“Unfortunately, I think we’re going up again,” he said, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Gavin glanced up blearily and gritted his teeth. “I’ll go and open the trapdoor first,” he suggested, reattaching the torch to his belt.

It only took him a few seconds to open the trapdoor and return.

“I’ll carry you, don’t worry,” he said. Gavin nodded absentmindedly.

Geoff coiled up the rope and stuffed it back into the pouch, confident that he wouldn’t drop the younger man; plus, he was concerned about the state of Gavin’s ribcage and the risk of aggravating whatever injury was present there by wrapping something around it. 

“I’m going to do a fireman’s lift,” Geoff explained, crouching down beside Gavin and helping him into a relatively upright position. He made eye contact with Gavin briefly before bending down and pulling Gavin up and over his shoulder, gripping his thigh tightly. “You feel secure?” he asked, gently manoeuvring Gavin’s arm so that he had a secure grasp on his thigh and wrist.

“Yeah, go for it,” he said, resting his head limply against Geoff’s back.

“Okay, just shout if you feel like you’re slipping,” he said, gripping the ladder with one hand and pulling himself up.

It was awkward to move with Gavin slung over his shoulder; he was constantly aware of bashing Gavin’s legs against the rungs as he struggled to make space for the both of them on the ladder. But he was used to climbing one handed. He had done it a lot when working with Burnie to construct parts of Achievement City, and Gavin was light enough that it barely impeded him.

“Nearly there,” he said, slowly pushing himself upwards and carefully placing Gavin down onto the next level before he followed him over.  Gavin was still for a long moment. Geoff shut the trapdoor behind them and rose to his feet, surveying the area.

There was another ladder and he started to climb it immediately. On the one hand, so much climbing when they were so injured was not a good thing; but, it meant they were making rapid progress, and he had been able to make good use of the endurance potion. He didn’t dare think about what would have happened to them if he had not found the potions.

He opened the trapdoor and paused at the top. He lifted the torch from his belt and carefully looked around.

“It’s the last ladder,” he said, heading back down until he was beside Gavin, who was still lying where Geoff had left him. “You still with me buddy?”

“Yeah, just…” He trailed off, brows pinched together in confusion as he scrambled for the rest of his sentence.

“Here,” Geoff said, offering the last few drops of clean water. Gavin lifted his head up wearily, and Geoff took pity, crouching down beside him and placing the bottle to his lips. He brushed a hand through Gavin’s hair, murmuring soothing sounds, whilst Gavin tipped his head back to drink with a worrying desperation.

“I feel awful,” Gavin groaned as he finished off the water.

“It’s your body trying to fight the venom. It means your immune system is working,” he said, even though he wasn’t completely certain. He hoped that it was just that.

“Let’s just keep moving,” Gavin responded, struggling into a shaky upright position. Geoff steadied him and lifted him back up and over his shoulder.

“This should be the last bit of climbing for a while,” he said, trying to move quickly up the ladder even as Gavin hissed in discomfort.

He wondered how deep they were. If the first drift level had been where the dynamite storage had been, then they had fallen at least two, if not three more levels from there. Then they had gone down once by ladder and again when they had fallen. Which meant that they had been at least five levels deep but possibly six. So, after this, they should be on either the third or second level.  Almost back up to where they had started.

“I want to get an idea of where to go next before we rest,” Geoff said he they clambered through the trapdoor and kicked it shut behind him. Ideally, he wanted to make full use of the potion still lingering in his system. “I can keep carrying you though,” he added.

“I’ll try to walk,” Gavin replied and Geoff lowered him carefully to the ground, his gaze accessing the other man.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he replied, even as his chest heaved in irregular, stuttered movements. “Your ankle looks worse,” he added.

“It feels fine,” Geoff said, not bothering to look. “Come on, let’s follow the pipes,” he said, lifting the torch up to the pipes which had re-emerged on the wall opposite the ladder. They were tilted at an angle, so it made sense to follow the pipes where they seemed to be heading upwards.

“I think there’s something wrong with my chest,” Gavin said abruptly, some strange quality to his tone. Geoff stared at him, moving closer and wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling Gavin close to his side, the intimate gesture seeming strangely necessary.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do for it down here,” he said, continuing to walk slowly. “Once we get out Ryan or Jack can probably fix it, or at least Burnie will have someone who can,” he said, trying to ignore the panicked worry that quickly engulfed him.

“Just thought you should know,” he replied, glancing down at the floor. Geoff couldn’t decipher what his tone meant.

“You’re being oddly serious,” he joked, but his grin faltered when Gavin’s eyes flashed with something akin to anger.

“I’m not actually an idiot,” Gavin hissed in a low, sharp-edged voice.

“What?”

“I know what a healing potion is meant to do and it’s not that,” he said, gaze snapping towards Geoff’s ankle as he pulled away from his side. Geoff pressed his lips together in a firm line. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m guessing it’s dangerous if you’re going to lie about it.”

“It’s not dangerous,” he replied.

“I might not know a lot about potions, but I know that they can bloody mess you up if misused. And your leg is looking way more messed up than before you took that potion,” he snapped, his narrowed eyes blazing.

“Okay, okay, so it’s not a healing potion, but if I don’t use it than I would barely be able to climb a ladder myself, let alone haul you up!” He retorted.

“You always fucking do this,” Gavin muttered, shaking his head bitterly.

“Do what?”

“This whole bullshit thing you do. This goddamn hero complex you have,” Gavin hissed.

“I’m fucking trying to protect your stupid ass, not trying to big myself up, you fucking dick!” He shouted, something nasty and angry twisting in his gut, perhaps fuelled by his hunger or exhaustion, and helped along by the potion energising his cells.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Hero complex? What the fuck!? You really think that’s how I see myself? That that’s why I fucking keep doing what I do? Fuck you!” He growled. His hands clenched by his side, his body shaking as he tried to contain the fury threatening to escape. He was seeing red, waiting and hoping for Gavin to yell back, to ignite the fire further, but the younger man merely gritted his teeth. And not in frustration or anger. He just looked…hurt, before he glanced away.

Gavin was intensity. His interactions with the other man always seemed heightened, each emotion more than it should be, everything a little bit more energetic, a little bit crazier. And usually it was wonderful. It was joy and happiness, grins that hurt his cheeks, and laughter that made him breathless. But now that rage was fizzling inside of him, and for a moment he felt nauseous, sick to his very core at the extent to which that anger had washed through his soul.

Gavin wasn’t looking at him. He didn’t seem to be looking anywhere. He had, in the time Geoff had known him, filled out his slender frame slightly; his core was strong, and his arms were shadowed with the faint outline of muscles. But now he looked frail, too skinny, and all the strength seemed to have been zapped from his body. 

Geoff sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Gavin didn’t look at him; his expression was blank, completely vacant like he had been hollowed out of all emotion. The barriers were up again. It had been years since he’d done this; completely close off and shut down, and it made Geoff ache. The rage had dissipated as quickly as it had come, and he felt heavy and sombre, but mostly concerned.

“Seriously dude, what are you on about?” He asked, carefully controlling his tone. Gavin blinked, his eyes flickering sideways but still not quite looking at him. Geoff waited almost two minutes, before he sighed again. “You know, now probably isn’t the best time to do this.”

“It doesn’t matter, let’s just drop it,” Gavin said quietly. Geoff furrowed his brows, watching him expectantly. Gavin squirmed under his gaze. “It’s just frustrating.”

“What is?” He pressed. Gavin made an exasperated noise. “This isn’t a new thing, is it?” he added, watching Gavin struggle as he chewed on his lower lip. Something stirred in Geoff’s chest, like worry and fear mingled together, but he pushed it away.

“You’re right, it’s stupid.”

“I never said that,” he replied in a soft voice. Gavin frowned, hunching in on himself, making himself look smaller. Geoff brushed up against him, making them both come to a sharp halt. He ghosted his arm across Gavin’s hip, unsure whether the touch was welcome. Gavin looked up at him, swallowed heavily, and quickly looked away. “I won’t get angry, okay?”

“It’s just…” Gavin trailed off, screwing his face up, his brows furrowing together. He exhaled sharply and tried again. “The fact you are down here is my fault, okay? The fact we’re injured is my fault. Like this whole bloody thing is because I was stupid, and you keep putting yourself in harm’s way to protect me, but it’s my fault I’m in danger in the first place. Every time I screw up, you always try to take the brunt of the damage, and its fucking terrifying to watch, okay?”

“It’s not your fault,” Geoff said after a moment. Gavin scoffed.

“I should have known not to attack that creeper. It was a bloody rookie mistake,” he sighed, his lips twisting downwards. “It feels worse now that you are in danger too,” he added quietly.

“Making mistakes in the heat of the moment doesn’t mean this is your fault.”

“Either way, you’re only in danger because of me.”

“If I hadn’t have followed you down, you would have died,” he pointed out. Gavin swallowed, eyes fixed on the ground. He was silent for a moment.

“But I don’t want you to die for me,” Gavin said, his tone faltering momentarily and he looked up, meeting Geoff’s eyes.

“I can’t stand by and let you die if there’s something I can do,” he whispered, taking an instinctive step closer to Gavin, feeling his breath ghost over his cheek. “I’m not going to watch you get hurt and do nothing about it.”

“It’s not a pride thing,” Gavin said, itching closer towards him. “It’s just that you try to protect me from so much, even if it means lying to me. And it’s not that I’m not thankful, it’s just, like, it’s difficult, okay? Like, you keep risking your life for me…”

“That’s my job though,” he interrupted. “My literal job is to put myself at risk to protect people. That’s why we were in those tunnels in the first place.”

“I know! Like I get that, I’m not a stupid kid, I know what we do, and I know it’s dangerous, but it’s different,” Gavin snapped. “You can risk your life for others, but, just, …don’t throw yourself into danger if there are other options. Don’t lie to me. Let me help.”

“I don’t regret jumping in after you. And I don’t regret using the potion, because there was no other way we were getting up that ladder,” he started firmly, before pausing, meeting Gavin’s eyes, something electric lingering in the air between them. “But I guess I’m sorry about not telling you, even though you couldn’t have helped. You’re right, I should have been honest about the potion. I don’t think I fully understand what you’re saying though, and I’m not going to stop looking after you, or whatever it is you think I’m doing, but just…I’ll keep you included in what I’m doing, okay?”

“Okay, yeah, that works,” Gavin nodded, turning away and abruptly breaking the connection. “How long will the potion last?”

“I don’t know. It’s starting to wear off now,” he admitted. The aches and pains were lingering beneath the potion’s fog and tiredness pressed at the corner of his mind. “Maybe five minutes?”

“Should we rest now then?” Gavin suggested, his gaze assessing him carefully with a frown.

“Let’s just go a bit further,” he said, rubbing at his eyes. “When the potion wears off completely we can stop,” he added.

“Alright,” Gavin agreed, moving back up against Geoff’s side. Geoff wrapped his arm around the younger man’s shoulder, willingly accepting the offered support. He could already feel sharp pain shooting through his leg which the potion was unable to mask.

It was less than five minutes later when the pain became agonising; his entire body stiffened and he clung tightly to Gavin as he tried desperately to relieve the weight from his leg. With the effects of the potion diminished he could feel tremors starting to course down his body, and his muscles felt store, stiff, and overworked. He barely restrained a groan.

“Geoff?

“I’m good, potion has faded,” he replied through gritted teeth. Sweat was pooling down his skin and he was aware of the feverish heat that seemed to wrap around his neck.

His leg buckled. His unbalanced weight pulled Gavin to the floor with him and the younger man yelped as he crashed down beneath Geoff’s weight.

“Sorry,” he said, having the sense of mind to quickly wiggle off the other man, whose face was pale and contorted with pain. “Shit, sorry, are you okay?”

“Just winded,” Gavin groaned, struggling into a sitting position and staring down at Geoff with concern. “Are you…?”

“I think I’ll be fine, it’s just a shock to go from no pain to all of it at once,” he said, following Gavin up into a sitting position and leaning back against the wall. “Resting now would be good,” he added.

“Yeah, I think so,” Gavin scoffed, but slid up next to him, nuzzling his head against Geoff’s side in a way that was both familiar, but had now, in this situation taken on a new intensity. He looked down at the other man, stroking a hand idly through his matted hair, and let the tiredness overcome him.

 

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

 

 

“Geoff? Geoff, wake up!” Gavin yelled, wiggling out from the other man’s grip. A loud screech echoed through the tunnel and sent a chill down his spine. He crawled over Geoff’s lap, reaching for the torch and cranking the lever desperately. The light spluttered, just barely illuminating the tunnel, and only just managing to catch a blur of movement as something whizzed past them and disappeared from sight.

“Geoff?” He nudged the other man, who groaned and sluggishly batted him away. Geoff’s eyelids fluttered, but he did not awaken. “Geoff, wake the fuck up!” He screamed, jostling him with a hard kick.

Geoff’s eyes opened, but they were glazed and unfocused. Gavin kicked him again, panic rising in his throat as he felt something brush past him with a hiss. Geoff blinked slowly, moving as though to stand, but freezing with a gasp when he moved his injured leg.

“Geoff, we need to move!” He yelled, trying to drag Geoff to his feet, but his own arms were still shaking too much and he couldn’t manage to support Geoff’s weight. “Geoff, stand up,” he begged, breaking off with a yelp when a purple form shimmered in front of him and roared.

“Endermen,” Geoff hissed with abrupt clarity. “Don’t look,” he warned, throwing a hand across his face to shield his eyes.

“They’re already attacking us,” he hissed, shrinking back as he felt the tingle of magic trickling across his skin as dark eyes searched him out.

“Do it anyway!” Geoff snapped, and Gavin obeyed, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the sensation of long limbs brushing up against him. “We need water,” Geoff said, his voice still rough with weariness. Gavin could feel the unnatural heat emanating from the other man.

“There’s a valve nearby,” he replied, shakily getting to his feet. He reached out, feeling the wall in front of him, and tentatively opening one eye. He could feel eyes borrowing into his back and could hear them moving behind him, but he didn’t dare look.

He slowly edged along the wall, inching his way towards the valve. There was a short hose attached which he shakily unravelled, before gripping the valve in both hands. It refused to budge. He gritted his teeth and planted his feet more firmly and tried again, grunting as his arms shook with exertion as the valve very slowly started to turn.

“Gav?” Geoff called worriedly as Gavin hissed through the pain.

“It’s just my arms,” he replied, biting down on his bottom lip. Water started to trickle from the hose at a pitiful rate.

“Your arms?” Geoff questioned. His voice was rough and scratchy, and his tone was thick with confusion. “Right, yeah,” he murmured after a moment, his words slurring together slightly. Gavin glanced at him with concern.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Make a ring of water,” Geoff said. Gavin wondered whether he had even registered the question.

He frowned, circling the hose around their feet as the water dribbled out, slowly wetting the surface beneath them. The endermen snarled and one materialised next to him; he felt the magic they ebbed brush over his skin, stinging like a burn, and he backed up against the wall, quickly averting his eyes.

He lifted the hose and swung it at the endermen; only a few drops splashed against its semi-translucent skin, but the endermen hissed and its form disintegrated as it swiftly teleported away.

“They’ll stay away,” Geoff said quietly. Gavin nodded, continuing to spill water on the ground, hoping to persuade the creatures to keep their distance.

Endermen didn’t tend to attack on sight like most mobs, but they were territorial and deadly, and right now they appeared aggravated. No doubt they had become accustomed to these tunnels being unoccupied. They were probably part of the reason the mine had become abandoned in the first place.

A few were clawing into the walls, drilling their long appendages into the rock face; the scratch of dagger-like claws against rock sent a shiver down his spine, and he jumped as they managed to dislodge part of the wall, causing it to crumble, the noise loud in the enclosed space.

Endermen were a mystery. They borrowed into the earth and hoarded whatever material they found, from dirt to gold, and then teleported back to wherever they came from. Mines and caves were particularly prone to becoming infested by endermen. Ryan had speculated that their hoarding was related to their social hierarchy in some way, but even he wasn’t sure.

Gavin hated the creatures. They were terrifying and dangerous, and seemed to consider any behaviour by humans as a direct attack worthy of reciprocation. He had learned the hard way that eye contact, no matter how accidental, was treated as an aggressive affront and prompted the endermen into attacking.

But for whatever reason, they hated water. They weren’t afraid of it, and if motivated enough they would follow you into water to attack, but generally they avoided it. A ring of water was usually enough to protect you if you were sleeping unprotected and most villages had small moats to help dissuade endermen from entering.

The creatures were moving on, seemingly disinterested in them, as they continued down the tunnel, their long partly non-corporeal appendages still scratching against the stone, like nails down a chalkboard, as they mined in their own monstrous way.

Gavin lowered himself down, goosebumps prickling his skin as he remained on edge, still able to hear the faint hiss and screech of the distant endermen. Next to him Geoff had passed out.

Geoff was slumped awkwardly against the wall, his face an ashen sheet of white, whilst slight murmurs escaped his chapped lips. Gavin placed the back of his hand to Geoff’s forehead and frowned. He had a fever.

Gavin exhaled slowly, trying to still the panic gnawing at his gut. He didn’t know what he was meant to do. He didn’t know how to treat a fever. Ryan would know what to do. Even Dan would have had some idea. But he was completely lost.

He filled up the rest of the bottles and set the filter in one. Dehydration would not help, he knew that much.

He carefully peeled away Geoff’s torn shirt in hopes of reducing his body temperature. He rummaged through the pouch and retrieved the last remains from the clothes Geoff had found and drenched the fabric in water. He squeezed the fabric and sponged down Geoff’s torso, watching the water turn dark and dribble down his sides.

Cuts and bruises littered the skin. The makeshift flannel tore at the old scabs and a pinprick of bright red dribbled out. The bruises were nasty; they were a bloated looking blue, edged with a ring of black and were particularly marked along Geoff’s chest.

He unbuckled Geoff’s belt, which already hung loosely across his hips, and shimmied his trousers down to his knees, keeping his movements slow and listening for the sharp grunts of pain escaping the unconscious man. He carefully lifted up the damaged leg and slid the trousers off completely.

He squeezed out the fabric, and dunked it back into the water once more, working his way down Geoff’s thighs. He was careful around the knees, which were a gruesome pale red, where the skin had been ripped away. He gently brushed the fabric across the swollen ankle, restraining a gag at the sight, and moving on quickly.

He sighed and carefully rolled Geoff onto his front. A vicious gash sliced down Geoff’s back; the edges were a raw red and the inside of the cut was marred with black scab-like formations and coated in a yellow pus. It was warm to the touch.

Geoff muttered quietly as Gavin poured water into the cut, watching it pierce the thick layer of pus, and trigger a spittle of blood to escape. Gavin parted the edges of the wound carefully with his fingers, and brushed the fabric into it as he tried to clean out the pus. 

He brushed off the fabric when it became stiff with the pale-yellow sludge, and forced himself to burrow deeper into the wound. He didn’t know how to treat infections; didn’t know whether this would help or hinder, but he allowed himself to be driven by his instincts. He scooped out the pus until just pink flesh was left, which quickly became buried in a waterfall of blood

He poured more water onto the wound, watching it turn red and cascade down Geoff’s back. He picked up Geoff’s shirt and pressed it down onto the bleeding wound.

The wound continued to ebb slowly for another minute or so before the flow of blood ceased all together. He tentatively removed the fabric and inspected the wound with a frown. It looked painful. The edges were still a crisp red and the skin around it was dry and cracking. 

He pulled Geoff’s trousers back up before rolling him onto his side. His shirt was blood stained and torn, so he discarded the remains back into the pouch, rather than attempting to redress him. Gavin settled down, dabbing at Geoff’s forehead with the water drenched fabric every now and again, hoping that Geoff would wake up soon.

But after about half an hour it became apparent that Geoff was not going to wake up by himself any time soon.

“Geoff?” He shook the other man. Geoff stirred, and his eyes flickered open, managing to focus after a few seconds. “Are you…okay?” He asked, aware of how stupid it sounded, but needing some reassurance.

Geoff’s eyelids fluttered, his face drawn and pale as he slowly rolled onto his front with a low grunt of pain. He didn’t seem to be fully with it, but they needed to keep moving. Geoff needed medical attention.

“Should I use the potion?” Gavin asked when Geoff remained lying on his front, panting heavily. Geoff shook his head, clambering into a sitting position whilst trying not to move his leg. Gavin crawled up beside him, offering his body as a supportive crutch.

Geoff reached out, wrapping both arms around Gavin’s shoulders and leaning heavily against him as Gavin struggled to get to his feet. He gritted his teeth, the additional weight almost unbearable, and for a moment he couldn’t get a breath in as his chest tightened.

Gavin limped forward, sweat dribbling down his temples as he felt his body start to shake under the heavy, almost dead-weight. He could feel Geoff’s unnaturally warm breath against his neck.

He barely managed a few steps before he had to stop, fearful that he was about to collapse.

Frustration boiled in him and he felt the back of his eyes start to burn. He hissed, trying to suppress the trembles that racked his body as he pushed forward another step. Geoff was listless, his head resting on Gavin’s collarbone; he was still awake, but his eyes were glazed over and his breathing was quick and shallow.

Everything hurt. Even his head thumped continually, as though there was a heavy banging on his skull, which seemed to be filled with a thick cloud of smog that was both suffocating and disorienting. There was an emptiness gnawing at his stomach, making it twist with nausea and making him lightheaded. It was days since he had eaten.

He felt _weak._

Each step took every ounce of concentration he had. There was no adrenaline to keep him going. Every bit of energy had faded and he just wanted to give in.

But the feeling of Geoff pressed up against him, the warmth of his body, the presence of him alive next to him forced him to keep moving. It was Gavin’s fault that they were in this situation. If he had just taken the time to _think_ he would have known not to attack that creeper. He had acted on impulse, and he had acted stupidly, and he couldn’t let his own foolishness come at the cost of Geoff’s life.

But his progress was slow. He kept stopping, panting in a desperate attempt to regain his breathing. He felt like he might faint, or throw up, or both, but he forced himself to move, probably averaging nothing more than an inch or so a minute. It almost made him want to cry.

It was hours before he came across something hopeful.

The flickering light of the redstone torch reflected off an old sign, and he paused, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he lowered Geoff to the floor. Geoff made a questioning noise but made no attempt to move as Gavin limped over towards the sign, forcing himself to focus through the fog in his mind as he read it.

It was a map.

Each drift level was marked. There were six in total, and according to the map they were currently on the third drift level. His heart clenched at the thought; they were only just halfway.

The first level was marked as storage. There were two entrances marked; one from above, which must have been the own they had fallen through, and one that came from the side, which he guessed came out somewhere near the ravine. It was probably blocked off considering they didn’t know about it.

The pipes were marked on the map as red lines. There were a few on the first drift level, but not nearly as many as there were on the lower levels. The lines crisscrossed each other, and each water hose was marked with a circled exclamation mark. All the red lines lead into a small area on the second drift level which was labelled as water storage.

There were only two elevator shafts marked on the map. One which went from the first drift level down to the third – presumably the one they had first fallen through – and another, further along the third drift level, that lead to the last level. They were currently between the two elevators.

If they continued along their current route they would come across the first elevator again, but this time they were approaching from the other side. And fortunately, between that point a ladder was marked, which would bring them up to the second drift level.

“Gav?” Geoff called out, his voice dry and raspy. Gavin knelt down beside him, pressing a hand to Geoff’s forehead, which was still burning hot and drenched in sweat. He rummaged through the pouch, finding the filtered water and pressing it to Geoff’s lips, encouraging the other man to drink with soft, soothing murmurs.

After a few long gulps, Geoff pushed the bottle away and tilted his head towards Gavin, his eyes narrowing as he struggled to focus. He was still very pale; his face was drawn and his eyelids sagged heavily.

“Gavin?” He repeated, that same questioning lilt to his voice. Gavin furrowed his brows, not sure what Geoff was asking for. He brushed a hand through Geoff’s sweat matted hair, which seemed to relax the other man, who sighed into his touch, his eyes fluttering closed.

Gavin watched the other man for a moment, scratching gently over Geoff’s scalp. The wound on his back had bled some more, but not enough to worry about. The infection, and the current illness, was far more concerning.

He wanted to keep moving, but now that he had stopped, he felt unable to coax his muscles into responding. His head was still fuzzy and he was nauseas from the aftereffects of the venom and his own hunger. He could taste sharp, acidic bile in the back of his throat.

He sighed, letting himself lie down next to Geoff, his gaze flickering momentarily to the map above them. He knew where they needed to go now. Theoretically they could rest, but his heart was still thundering rapidly in his chest and concern gripped him, worried that Geoff, in his current state, would not awaken again if he fell asleep now.

He couldn’t climb that ladder on his own. And he certainly couldn’t heave an unconscious Geoff out of here on his own either.

“We need to keep moving,” he said, forcing himself back into a sitting position. Geoff opened his eyes, watching him with a strange intensity. “Are you actually lucid?” He asked, trying to ignore the hitch in his own voice as he worriedly tried to assess Geoff’s awareness.

“Somewhat,” Geoff responded after a moment, cracking a small smile. “I’m just very tired,” he added, managing to heave himself into an upright position where he leaned against Gavin’s side.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” he admitted quietly. “I don’t know what to do.”

Gavin jumped, not expecting the hand that gently cupped his cheek and tilted his head towards Geoff so that their eyes met, their faces only inches apart.

“It’s okay,” Geoff whispered, brushing his thumb along his jawline. “You’re doing well,” he added, his voice soft as he lifted his gaze to meet Gavin’s eyes. His thoughts seemed to stutter to a stop and he was just held in that moment; then he blinked and snapped out of it, darting his gaze away and leaning backwards, letting Geoff’s hand fall away.

“There’s a map. We need to go up a ladder soon and then it’s possible we could use a culvert to escape. But if not, we’ll have to go up again,” he explained, directing Geoff’s attention towards the map.

“They have a grinder in here,” Geoff murmured. “I guess that explains the Nether Portal and the mobs. There must actually be a spawner here then,” he mused. Gavin glanced at him. He hadn’t even noticed the signs for the grinder labelled on the map. “Fucking pain that they didn’t destroy the spawner when they abandoned this place,” Geoff huffed.

“I don’t think the ladder is too far. Can you walk?” He asked, not knowing what else to say. It wasn’t common for mines to have grinders, but he supposed that if they had found a naturally occurring spawner down here, then it probably had made sense to create a grinder around it, so that they could deal with the danger the mobs posed whilst also making additional profit from the mob resources gathered. Without power the grinder would have automatically shut off, but spawners took a lot of time and precision to permanently deactivate. No doubt then that the mine had been abandoned in a hurry.

“I’ll try,” Geoff promised, wrapping his arms around Gavin’s shoulders and preparing to struggle to his feet.

 

* * *

 

 

Despite the ladder not being far away it took them a few hours to reach it.

Relief blossomed in his chest as the red light reflected of the rusted metal rungs, a beacon of hope amongst the darkness.

“We’re here,” Gavin said, carefully lowering Geoff down beside the bottom rung. Geoff stirred, gaze darting up the ladder and back towards Gavin. “How are you feeling?” He asked, pressing his hand to Geoff’s forehead. His temperature hadn’t appeared to change. At least he wasn’t getting worse.

“Like shit,” Geoff grunted, taking the jug of water that Gavin passed him. He threw his head back as he took a long gulp, excess liquid dribbling down his chin. “What’s the plan?”

“Up the ladder and towards the culvert. Hopefully it’s usable,” he replied, watching Geoff carefully. “How much of that potion is left?”

“A bottle. I’ll take half now and the rest when we reach the culvert,” Geoff explained, rubbing the back of his hand over his tired eyes. “How’s you?”

“I’m coping,” he replied after a moment. He could still feel the fog that had taken residence at the back of his mind since the spider had bitten him, and there was a weakness that flowed through his veins, making him drowsy and unsteady on his feet. Pain sliced across his shoulders and his arms were trembling by his sides. He didn’t think he could even lift them anymore.

“You ready then?” Geoff asked.

“You’ll need to carry me,” he pointed out, eying the ladder with trepidation. It wasn’t that high, but his stomach churned at the sight of it, phantom pain igniting his arms at the thought.

“Okay.” Geoff reached for the pouch, rummaging through it until he found the single bottle of potion. He sloshed it from side to side, eying the contents carefully, pouring half of it into another bottle, and quickly downing the rest. Nothing really changed, except Geoff’s eyes were sharper and he managed to stand up with little struggle. “This is going to hurt like a bitch when this wears off,” he muttered, pressing his injured leg down to the floor carefully.

“You okay?” Gavin asked again, stumbling ungracefully to his feet, staring down at the swollen ankle with wide eyes. He felt queasy looking at it.

“For now,” he said. “I’m going to open the trapdoor and then come back for you,” he explained, clambering quickly onto the ladder. Even with the potion his ankle trembled, looking as though it might snap under the strain. Gavin chewed on his bottom lip, shifting his weight nervously.

Geoff heaved the trapdoor open, coughing lightly as dust particles swarmed in front of him. He cleared his throat and headed back down the ladder

“I’m going to lift you,” Geoff warned, bending his knees as he lifted Gavin up and over his shoulder. Gavin grunted, his chest tightening as the breath was squeezed out of him. “You okay, buddy?”

“Yeah,” he replied breathlessly, struggling to accustom himself to the new position. Geoff hummed, sounding unconvinced as he climbed the ladder and scrambled through the trapdoor. He carefully lowered Gavin back to his feet, steadying him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Which way?” Geoff asked. Gavin waited a moment, letting himself catch his breath before he replied.

“This way,” he said, coming up next to Geoff and offering his support once more. Geoff stared, before reluctantly taking the offered support, taking at least some of the weight of his injured leg.

 

* * *

 

 

“How many days do you think it’s been?” Gavin asked, fighting against the lethargy that settled over him as a heavy weight. Geoff grunted.

“No way to know. Four?” He guessed, sounding as though he too were on the verge of sleep. “Long enough that I’m really fucking hungry,” he added with a sigh.

“Is the potion still working?” Gavin asked. Geoff nodded. “Earlier, when you kept passing out, what was going on? I think you had an infected cut, but I’m not sure…”

“I think you’re right.”

“But usually if you get an infection it takes a while until it gets that bad…”

“Yeah, the potion made it worse, I think,” he admitted, rubbing his eyes. Gavin frowned, feeling a flash of annoyance which Geoff managed to pick up on. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I had an infection. I had kind of forgotten about the cut as well. But the potion meant that I didn’t notice it getting worse, and it also meant that my body was not properly fighting against it, so as soon as it wore off it hit me all at once I guess,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So, it’s going to happen again?”

“Maybe. You cleaned it well and my immune system has had a chance to work against it, but the potion will fuck it up again. I shouldn’t get any worse than I was,” Geoff said, his thumb absentmindedly brushing soothing circles across Gavin’s collarbone. “We just need to focus on getting out of here, and then we can get everything treated.”

“What if the culvert is a bust?” He asked quietly. Geoff looked up at him, holding his gaze for a moment, until Gavin dropped his eyes. “It might not lead anywhere safe. It might not even be big enough to get through. It might be blocked,” he said, tripping over his syllables as he spoke faster and louder than he had intended.

“Then we’ll find another way out,” Geoff said, his voice taking on a steady and soothing tone.

“We have half a bottle of potion left. We’re not exactly in peak physical condition,” he said, gritting his teeth. “We probably won’t last much longer.”

“You shouldn’t think like that.”

“It’s true though,” he replied, swallowing heavily and reluctantly meeting Geoff’s gaze. There was a fire in his eyes that Gavin couldn’t decipher, but it made his heart lurch.

“People can beat incredible odds when they are fighting for survival. Especially when they are fighting for someone else.”

Gavin didn’t respond and they lapsed into silence. Anxious thoughts continued to swarm through his head and he sighed, trying to ignore the pain radiating through his body in time with his heartbeat as they carried on at a slow, gruelling pace.

They still had a long way to go.

 

* * *

 

 

Geoff could feel the potion wearing off, like the energy was dripping away from his body, and he hung on to Gavin as merely a dead weight. He wasn’t aware of falling unconscious, but time seemed to pass at a strange, jolting pace. His thoughts grew muddled, seemed to thicken and stick together, and he could feel his lips moving, but didn’t know whether he was making sounds, or what he was trying to say.

He felt dizzy.

He could feel Gavin’s warm breath tickling the nape of his neck, and Geoff nuzzled further into the touch, chasing the familiar feeling of comfort. He could feel one of Gavin’s arms wrapped around his waist where it trembled under the strain of trying to balance Geoff’s weight.

He tried to mentally shake himself; to rid himself of the murky, vicious fog that shrouded his thoughts. He managed to force his wearied body to take some weight, even whilst his injured ankle trailed along uncooperatively.

He managed to keep himself upright for a few moments, but he quickly felt his body slump again, eyelids fluttering as he clung to consciousness. His thoughts turned dreamlike and everything took on a peculiar fuzzy quality. The ground beneath him seemed to sway, and his stomach rolled with the phantom motion.

Restless nonsensical syllables fell from his chapped lips. He thought someone was talking to him, maybe Ryan, or perhaps it was Jack. He couldn’t tell. The two imagined voices intertwined with each other, and he only picked up a few odd words, none on which made any sense. Something about Burnie and the kingdom. A dreamed conversation.

He was yanked from his dreamscape by the sudden, visceral sensation of falling. At first, he thought it was imagined, but then pain flared across his body as he crashed into the ground. His cheek and bare chest were scrapped open, skin raw and oozing blood.

Next to him was a low whimpering, tinged with pain and accompanied by heavy and strained breathing. His mind was still struggling to comprehend the situation, but something deep within his core was ignited by the pained sound, and every fibre of his being yelled _Gavin, Gavin, Gavin_.

Driven by the spark of adrenaline, and the ferociously protective urge that surged within him, he crawled towards the noise. He reached out blindly until he grasped the warm, sweat-slickened body lying in the dirt next to him. He flopped down heavily next to the younger man, wrapping an arm around the trembling form and pulling Gavin – as much as he could – towards his chest, before his mind collapsed from the strain and he abruptly fell unconscious.

 

* * *

 

 

When Geoff awoke his muscles were throbbing from the strain of his position and his arm had gone numb beneath him. There was a sharp piercing pain at the front of his head, and he groaned, burrowing his face into the warm body next to him.

Gavin stirred at the touch. His pupils were heavily dilated and his breaths came out in short, gasping paints. Sprawled a little away from them was the redstone torch, and the glass casing had cracked, creating a prism of shattered, dimmed light.

“Gav,” he murmured, the word catching in his sore throat. He tried to urge away the disorientation clinging to his mind. “Breathe slowly. Deeply,” he instructed, hovering his palm over Gavin’s chest.

“Hurts,” he whispered, but Gavin forced his chest to expand slowly, his brows knit together in focus. Geoff brushed a hand down Gavin’s side reassuringly, like calming a timid beast, as Gavin tried desperately to control his exhale, which came out like a low whistle.

As Gavin tried to find his rhythm, Geoff carefully lifted up his shirt and investigated the state of Gavin’s ribcage. The younger man hissed, eying him with trepidation, as Geoff trailed his fingers across the length of each rib.

There was a severe bruise which started roughly in line with his heart, and trailed down in splatters to the top of his abdomen and around towards his spine. It was a blotchy shade of dark purple, edged with crimson red, with what looked like the faintest tinge of black in the centre. Geoff pressed down gently on the bruise, searching for a break, but Gavin flinched beneath him and his breathing sped up dramatically, so Geoff moved his hand away.

“Shh, you need to breathe deeply,” he said, adopting a soothing voice as he continued to examine the ribcage, careful not to press down again. Gavin gave a small nod, but his chest shuddered sporadically, and it seemed like the breath was getting caught in his throat. “Slow down,” he added.

“Is it…” Gavin trailed off with a frown, his face strangely drawn and pale, before his chest heaved and a wracking cough erupted from his throat. Geoff scrambled upright, pulling Gavin with him, and letting the other man press back against his chest as he continued to cough. The sound was horrendous in the otherwise silent tunnel. It sounded thick and chesty, and Gavin doubled over as he started to cough up thick globs of mucus.

The coughing continued for a couple of minutes, but even after it had stopped, Gavin continued to shake fiercely in Geoff’s grasp.

“Blood?”

“Hmm?”

“Did I cough up blood?” Gavin asked with a weak voice, his eyes squeezed shut and his head buried in Geoff’s chest.

“No, no blood.”

“It really hurts,” Gavin whispered. “Don’t know what’s wrong,” he added, something scared and vulnerable in his tone.

“What happened before?” Geoff asked, stroking a hand through Gavin’s hair, whilst Gavin held onto him with a weak grasp.

“Collapsed. Couldn’t breathe. Passed out”

“It’s strain. And panic. If you couldn’t breathe, you wouldn’t have woken up. You must have been hyperventilating,” Geoff pointed out, trying to sound self-assured. “I think you’ve bruised, maybe broken, a couple of ribs, but it hasn’t punctured a lung, okay? There’s no blood, you’re still breathing, and your chest is still working. It’ll hurt like dicks, buddy, but you need to keep trying to breathe normally, otherwise it’s going to get worse. That’s why you coughed up so much shit just now.”

Gavin was silent. For a moment Geoff thought he had passed out again, but then he hummed quietly, seemingly contemplating Geoff’s words.

“We’re right next to the culvert. Or, well, near the water supply,” Gavin said, gesturing towards the end of the tunnel. Geoff strained his eyes, just able to glimpse the faint shadow of a metal step and an open doorway. “I saw it before I collapsed.”

“You ready to move?”

“Yeah, just give me a moment,” Gavin said, slowly manoeuvring away from Geoff’s lap. His body was still trembling and he struggled to get his legs underneath him to stand up. “Are you okay?” He asked, walking over towards the cracked torch, his eyes darting back to where Geoff was still sat prone on the floor.

“Yeah, yeah. Just need you to help me up,” he replied. Gavin nodded, hurrying back towards him and kneeling down beside him. “Thanks,” he murmured, slinging his arms around the younger man’s neck and struggling to his feet.

The tunnel split, branching away from the metal doorway and continuing on. Above the doorway was a rusted, dirt smudged sign that read ‘Water Storage.’

Gavin helped to heave him up the small step and through the doorway, which lead out into a metal walkway. Running alongside them was a shallow current of water, which reflected the shattered light of the torch, creating strange, twinkling patterns across the walkway. Hoses and pipes snaked across the walkway, leaving them a very narrow path to clamber through.

“Do you think there is a culvert?” Gavin asked timidly.

“It seems likely,” he responded, his gaze flickering towards the water. It lapped at the walkway, small ripples travelling across its surface, and though dark and murky, it did not appear stagnant. “The water is flowing, so it’s got to have a source.”

“There are pipes beneath the water,” Gavin noted, shining the torch on the water.

“The whole mine is supplied from here,” he said. “I don’t think the pump is active anymore,” he suggested, unable to hear the rhythmic whoosh of pistons. There didn’t appear to be any circuitry remaining here; all the redstone had been thoroughly harvested a long time ago. The only thing keeping the water running through the pipes was gravity.

The walkway gradually sloped upwards. The ground beneath them was slightly slippery, but not enough to make them lose their footing. The water was contained in a shallow, level container, which on either side had small open-pipes for any excess water, which twisted it back around and disappeared through the rock face, presumably back to the original water supply.

They passed what seemed to be the inactive water pump. It was rusted now, and there was a gap between the cogs, where he could faintly make out the old, worn groves of past wires that had since been torn away. He could see where the redstone dust and torches would have rested, but the more intricate imprints had been worn away by time. He quirked an eyebrow at the design; it was very archaic, long before his time.

Next to him Gavin stiffened and exhaled sharply. Geoff followed his gaze to the culvert.

It wasn’t particularly big. As they limped towards it, neither speaking, he noted that it came up to just above his knees. Its width was only slightly wider than his shoulders. Gavin shone the light over the opening, but it barely pierced the darkness, and from here it seemed that the pipe continued on forever. There was no way to tell whether it would get progressively narrower or not.

“Is this it?” Gavin asked, looking at him carefully. “Can we get through?”

“Maybe,” he replied, somewhat dubiously. His heart was hammering in his chest as he envisioned the tunnel becoming too narrow, closing in around them, as the walls became suffocating and trapped them inside. But Gavin had a spark in his eyes that had been missing for a while. So, he swallowed his doubts and tried to look confident. “Pass me the rest of the potion. And drink some water, we don’t know how long this thing is.”

They lowered into a crouch whilst Gavin rummaged through the pouch and passed him the remains of the potion. Geoff took it in a shaking hand. Gavin took a swig of water whilst watching him intensely.

“Are you nervous?” Gavin asked, the lip of the bottle still pressed to his dry lips. Geoff looked at him.

“It can’t be worse than anything else we’ve put up with,” he replied, failing to keep his tone light. Gavin’s eyes softened and he glanced away.

“I wish you weren’t down here…but I’m really glad you are,” Gavin admitted in a small voice, timidly glancing up at him. Geoff swallowed. “Thank you.”

“Gav…”

“I just want to say that. I owe you a lot,” Gavin said, memories dancing across his eyes, before he pressed forward clumsily, his arms still tensed at his side, and burrowed unexpectedly into Geoff’s chest. Geoff stiffened. He could feel the warmth of Gavin’s laboured breath, and it sent a tingle down his skin, which at once was invigorating and uncomfortable. He tentatively wrapped his arms around Gavin’s back, before gently pushing him away to down the rest of the potion.

“Let’s move,” he said, trying to ignore the way Gavin stared up at him. “I’ll go first,” he said, scrambling onto all fours as he eased his way into the culvert, before stopping and backing out. “No, you go first, it makes more sense.”

“How?” Gavin questioned, furrowing his brows, even as he struggled onto all fours, his arms bending at an awkward angle.

“You’re narrower,” he explained, nudging Gavin along.

“Shouldn’t you go first then?” Gavin responded, shuffling forward. The redstone torch was held loosely in his palm, and he grunted, the light streaming over the tunnel in irregular jerks. “Take the torch, I can’t hold it,” he muttered, letting the torch drop and leaving it for Geoff to pick up.

“If you can fit through and I can’t you should keep going,” he said, rummaging through the thick sludge that clung to the pipe as he looked for the torch. Gavin made a noise of complaint, about to argue. “It makes more sense. If one of us can get out, it means you can alert the others to the fact I’m alive.” And they wouldn’t both have to die.

“You say that like they could do anything,” he grunted. Geoff tried to aim the torch to light up the path in front of Gavin, but the light only bled out through the few spaces left by Gavin’s body.

“I wonder what they are doing,” Geoff mused. How many days? A week, perhaps? None of them had ever gone missing for that long. Especially not in such dire circumstances.

“I wonder if Dan knows…”

“I’m sure they’ve told him. Ray too.”

“Burnie will know. And Griffon.”

“They’ll assume the worse,” Geoff said, although his mouth twitched faintly upwards at the thought of the others. “It’s probably chaos up there.”

“Achievement city is leaderless,” Gavin mused, something almost mocking in it.

“Meh, Lindsey knows enough to take over any time. She’s basically been running things for the past year or so.”

“I’m sure she’ll be glad to give back the responsibility.” Gavin gave a strained laugh. The culvert seemed to be inclining upwards already.

“I might keep her in charge for a bit. Take a holiday for myself,” he replied, winching as something hard, hidden beneath the sludge, bashed against his injured leg. “Fuck this tunnel,” he muttered.

“A holiday sounds like too much work. I’ll just sleep for a while.”

“I’m going to get so fucking drunk,” he decided, and Gavin hummed wistfully in agreement.

 

* * *

 

 

Geoff had managed to slice his hand open. He didn’t know what had done it, but there were all sorts of things that seemed to be hiding in the mud that oozed down the sides of the culvert. It was a fucking nuisance. His hand continued to trickle blood and he struggled to keep his grip on the torch.

“Has it stopped bleeding?” Gavin asked, evidently hearing his laboured breaths as he flexed his hand experimentally. He couldn’t tell how deep it was, but it cut across his palm and had been bleeding continuously for at least half an hour.

“Yes,” he lied, before changing his mind and adding, “Well, no, but it’s only bleeding a little bit.”

“Do you have anything to wrap around it?”

“No point,” he said. It would just slow them down.

He was still shirtless and the mud was clinging to his body, and starting to send a piercing chill down his spine, which was a stark contrast to the suffocating warmth of the mines.

“How are your arms doing?” Geoff asked.

“They haven’t completely collapsed on me yet, so that’s something I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Is it getting narrower?”

“I don’t think so,” Gavin replied, trying to crane his head back to get a glance of him, but the angle was impossible. “Are you okay?”

Geoff merely grunted. He was wet, cold and miserable. The culvert was starting to feel more and more like a tomb, where the walls now brushed up against his bare shoulders, grazing the skin and leaving a lingering pressure that had his heart beating rapidly.

“You reckon Burnie’s in Achievement City?” Gavin asked carefully. “He probably is. I wonder if he brought his sorcerers. That’ll freak Ryan out. He freaks out enough when he’s in the castle with them, let alone if they ever came to the city. He’ll be following them around like a lost and kicked puppy.”

Geoff hummed. He was shivering and his hand was still bleeding, albeit it not continuously. Just every time it got bumped, which seemed to happen constantly.

“I was terrified of Ryan when I first met him, you know?” Gavin pressed.

“Yeah, yeah, we know. You wouldn’t go near the guy,” he replied, managing to force out a trace of humour past the heavy weariness of his voice.

“Thought he was a well powerful sorcerer and stuff. Found it creepy at the time. I guess he’s pretty much just a chef though, considering he mainly does potions and that,” Gavin said, speaking with renewed energy now that Geoff had started to respond.

“I don’t think he’d appreciate you calling him a chef,” he said. He knew what Gavin was trying to do. He appreciated it also.

“Well, only a magical chef. He can’t cook actual food,” Gavin retorted. “Only you and Jack can to be honest. And Michael. Sometimes.”

“I’m glad you didn’t include yourself in that. You’re a shit cook,” he replied. He was making an effort to rouse some energy within himself, prompted along by Gavin’s probing chatter, but there was still a weakness that was settling into his core.

The potion had long since worn off and it was sheer determination that was keeping him moving. And even that was starting to wane.

“I didn’t exactly have much chance to practice growing up,” Gavin replied, his tone light, even as Geoff could see the tremors running across his body.

“Are you cold?”

“It’s the water,” Gavin replied. “If it wasn’t for the water I’d be fine.”

Geoff nodded, forgetting that Gavin couldn’t see him. Hypothermia should still be a long way off, and he’d rather Gavin was shaking due to the cold, as opposed to anything more immediately serious.

“How long are culverts usually?” Gavin asked.

Geoff grunted, wishing he knew the answer. He didn’t want to be in this tunnel any longer. It was making his skin prickle uncomfortably at the weight of the concrete encasing him. He wasn’t claustrophobic…but this was a unique situation. 

“Do you think they’ll be a grate?” Gavin asked.

“This system is pretty ancient, so I doubt it. At least, I hope not,” he answered uncertainly. “No point thinking about it now.”

“I mean, what else are we meant to think about?” Gavin asked. Geoff couldn’t tell how serious the question was.

“I don’t know. But there’s no use. Either it’s there or it isn’t. Nothing we can do about it.”

“Sounds deep,” Gavin huffed, followed by a cough that seemed to resonate deep within his chest. Geoff winced at the sound. “Have you dreamed since you’ve been down here?”

“What?”

“Well, it’s something else, isn’t it? Just curious.”

“I don’t think so. Not normal dreams anyway,” Geoff said.

“Meaning?”

“Well, like fever dreams. More chaotic. Just emotions really, no pictures,” he admitted. “What about you?”

“Same I guess. I’ve dreamt about the others as well though,” he said nonchalantly. “We still don’t know if Ryan got out.”

“I expect he did. I don’t’ think the cave collapsed,” he replied. “He’s safe,” he added, surprising himself with his confidence. Gavin hummed dubiously.

 

* * *

 

 

Geoff had the strange sensation that he was floating aimlessly, aggravated by the darkness that closed in around him. It made each movement feel treacherous, as though at any time he could find himself falling through nothingness. He groaned, trying to push past the fog that settled heavily in his limbs.

Ahead of him Gavin hissed, and there was a heavy thud as his arms gave way once more.

“You okay, Gavvy?” He asked, the nickname slipping out unnoticed. Gavin grunted. “Gavin,” he pressed, lightly flicking his ankle.

“Yeah, just give me a moment…” Gavin said, his accent thickening as weariness took hold.

“We need to keep moving,” he pointed out, brushing his hand up and down Gavin’s calf, taking in the stark chill of the exposed skin.

“I know, just…”

“You’re shaking,” he said, focusing the light on Gavin. There was a splash as Gavin struggled to get his arms beneath him again. He was shaking dramatically now. But so was Geoff.

“I hate this tunnel,” Gavin muttered, desperation seeping into his tone.

“Yeah, I know buddy. We’ll get there soon,” he promised, patting Gavin’s leg reassuringly, before they started to move again.

 

* * *

 

  
In the darkness, and with so much of Gavin’s attention focused on crawling forward without putting weight on his arms, he didn’t notice that the culvert had come to an abrupt end, until he scooted unwittingly over the threshold.

He gave a startled gasp as the ground disappeared beneath him, and he toppled forward into freezing cold water.

He briefly managed to break the surface, spluttering as he tried to find solid ground, but his vision was obscured by the darkness of the night and the thick sheet of rain that poured down over him. The current caught him again, dragging him back under and he kicked out desperately. His arms, even underwater, refused to cooperate and he was unable to break the current’s hold.

Panic gripped him as his lungs started to burn. The current was dragging him along, and the more he kicked out, trying to break the surface, the more disorientated he became in the black water, until he wasn’t sure which way was up anymore.  

And then strong arms wrapped around him and he was pulled up, breaking free from the current, and gasping desperately as they broke the surface. He immediately started coughing, going limp in Geoff’s hold as he dragged them towards the shore.

Geoff pulled them out of the water, and he keeled over, coughing up mouthfuls of water and spit. He didn’t have time to recover before an arrow shot past him, embedding in the ground a few inches away, and Geoff was pushing him down protectively.

The redstone torch was discarded beside the water, and now only the darkness and the tall grass shielded them from view, but it wasn’t going to be enough. He tilted his head, seeing the yellow eyes that pierced the darkness as skeletons and zombies crept towards them. Distantly he could hear the low chirps of creepers.

He hissed in a shaky imitation of a creeper’s warning, a skill he had picked up from years living in the wilderness, and for a moment the skeletons paused, their eyes swivelling as they searched for the source of the danger. The zombies carried on oblivious, too stupid to process anything they heard.

“The potions?” Gavin whispered, nudging Geoff gently. Geoff blinked at him.

“Gone Gav.”

“Invisibility one,” he insisted, eying the skeletons warily. They would figure out the trick soon.

It took a while for understanding to pierce the glossy sheen of Geoff’s gaze, but then he was quickly throwing the pouch to the ground and rummaging through it blindly. Geoff grabbed the potion and handed it to him in shaking hands.

Gavin downed half of it, before quickly pressing it to the other man, encouraging him to drink. Geoff finished off the rest, looking at him carefully.

It took effect almost immediately.

He could still feel the press of Geoff’s body against his, but as he looked up he saw nothing but the dark menacing clouds above. If he focused, he could just pinpoint the flickering of static, outlining where Geoff’s body was, but otherwise they were completely invisible.

“Gavin,” Geoff whispered above him. “We’re too cold,” he added, hands scrabbling across Gavin’s body until he managed to grab a hold of his shirt, where he tugged it upwards, leaving it to bunch around Gavin’s neck with a frustrated grunt. “Take it off,” he said, pressing their exposed chests flush against each other. Gavin hissed, his arms barely twitching at his sides as he tried to wiggle away from the weight of the other man on top of him.

“Geoff, stop, it hurts!” He gasped, sharp agonising pain shooting across his ribcage. There was a rustle of movement, and then he was being dragged onto his side, pulled tight against Geoff’s chest, their legs intertangled, and Geoff’s chin resting on his head. Despite the pain he felt his wearied body relaxing into the touch.

He didn’t realise he had passed out until he was being violently shaken.

“No, stay awake,” Geoff ordered. Gavin hummed, his eyelids fluttering as he struggled to push past the thick fog clouding his vision. Geoff shook him again. “Gavin, come on. Talk to me.”

“The potions fading,” he murmured, glancing down at his semi-translucent wrist. “How long?”

“About ten minutes until its useless,” Geoff replied. “We can’t stay here.”

“We can barely move,” he pointed out.

“ _Don’t._ We’ve got this far,” Geoff hissed, twisting so that he was on top him, his arms shaking with the strain of keeping his weight off him, staring down at Gavin with barely visible eyes. Gavin swallowed. “We can find shelter, somewhere relatively safe.”

“Where?” He asked pointedly. Geoff frowned at him, before collapsing down next to him with a sigh, staring up at the sky as he panted heavily. “I’m sorry,” he added softly. Geoff looked at him.

“Do you recognise where we are?” Geoff asked, scooting closer to him. “A mile or so that way is Rydal Lake,” Geoff answered, not giving him the chance to respond as he gestured vaguely. “Achievement City is about ten miles further along. If it wasn’t dark you’d be able to see the tower,” Geoff sighed.

“I know this stretch of river. It’s near here we first met,” he added. Geoff blinked, glancing down at him with an unreadable expression. “I was injured then too,” he huffed, his mouth curling.

“Didn’t think I’d get taken out like this,” Geoff muttered. Gavin glanced at him, shocked to see the tear that rolled down his cheek, almost masked by the rain that cascaded down on them. Geoff huffed, biting down heavily on his bottom lip. “Fuck.”

“There’s a village by the lake. We could get there,” he suggested desperately, his heart hammering painfully in his chest. Geoff pursed his lips.

“ _You_ could.”

“What? No, we could both get there. You’ll just have to lean on me,” he argued, struggling into a crouch and staring down at Geoff desperately. “We did it before, we can do it again.”

“We’ll make too much noise like that. The mobs will get us before we get far,” Geoff said, sitting up and placing a gentle hand on Gavin’s shoulder, eyes softening. “Your legs aren’t injured. You have a greater chance of getting there without being caught by the mobs.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Gavin –”

“No!” He yelled, close to hyperventilating. “It’s not fair. I’m the one who fucked up. You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me. I can’t…I can’t fucking leave you,” he cried, his body racked by silent sobs as he stared pleadingly at Geoff.

“Gav, buddy, this isn’t your fault. This is just life shitting on us,” Geoff said, hushing him as he brushed his thumb across Gavin’s cheekbone, his palm cupping his cheek. “You can get to the village. You can get help, okay?”

“I can…I can get help for you. Tell them were you are,” he reasoned, closing his eyes as he leaned into Geoff’s familiar touch.

“Yeah, yeah,” Geoff murmured, pressing their foreheads together. Gavin took a deep breath, meeting Geoff’s gaze, before abruptly pulling the other man in for a kiss.

Geoff’s lips were chapped dry, and there was a faint metallic taste tainting the kiss, but he didn’t care as their mouths clashed together, teeth clinking in desperation. Geoff moaned softly, keening upwards as he tugged his hands through Gavin’s matted hair. But then Geoff stiffened, pulling their lips apart suddenly.

“I…” Gavin started, breathless, wondering what he did wrong.

“Not now. You need to go. The mobs will be on us soon,” Geoff said, pulling away from him and regarding him carefully. Gavin nodded, despite the anxiety that pooled in his stomach.

“Try to hide,” Gavin replied nervously. “I can get you over towards the trees, there should be some undergrowth there,” he suggested, crouching down next to Geoff and positioning himself to aid Geoff into standing, trying to ignore the frantic beating of his heart.  Geoff grunted, struggling upwards, with most of his weight on Gavin.

They hobbled torturously slowly towards the treeline. Geoff was biting down on his lip, but it wasn’t enough to stop the muffled whimpers and grunts of pain. Gavin was barely able to keep from toppling over with most of Geoff’s weight on his weakened body, and as soon as they reached the treeline they both collapsed heavily.

There was some bushy undergrowth clinging to the base of the tree, but it was nowhere near adequate protection from the mobs, nor from the elements. It couldn’t even be classed as a shelter. Geoff crawled carefully into it, hissing as he was whipped and pricked by the unforgiving bush. Gavin watched him, not wanting to leave.

“This will do. You need to go, buddy,” Geoff said, noting his hesitation. Gavin gnawed on his bottom lip.

“I’ll get help,” he promised, shakily rising into a standing position. Geoff’s eyes softened.

“I love you,” he said quietly, almost inaudible under the pouring rain. Gavin turned to him, swallowing heavily.

“I love you too,” he replied, the words heavy on his tongue, and he turned, ducking into the shadows of the forest and hurriedly making his way towards the village. Towards help.

 

* * *

 

 

Gavin’s thoughts were winding away from him as his fatigued brain drifted into a dream-like state as he sprinted, or rather slowly jogged, through the forest. His arms were wrapped around his chest, and each step sent him sliding as the ground squelched beneath him and he struggled to keep his footing.

He had spent years travelling across the land, through many different forests just like this. Memories of sprinting, running, being chased through thick terrain drifted back to him, pressing vividly to the back of his mind and disorientating him.

He mentally shook himself, momentarily pausing to catch his bearings. Around him the branches cracked as the ferocious wind tore through the forest and he shivered.

How long now? Twenty minutes since he’d left Geoff? More? Less?

There was a low groan from behind him and he took off again, gritting his chattering teeth together.

The rain whipped across his cheeks. It stung as it slapped across his skin, like icy talons piercing deep into him. His lungs burned.

There were pinpricks of light, blurred by the downpour, calling to him through the canopy. He could see it, the edge of the village, the mark of humanity, but it was still so far.

He gasped as his chest seized and he started to cough uncontrollable, tears rolling down his stinging cheeks as he tried to push through the body-racking coughs that echoed from deep within his chest with an agonising, searing pain.

Weakness pooled rapidly though his body. He paused, hunched over as he coughed up large globs of dark spit, triggering his gag reflex further as he started to dry heave. He tried to take a step forward, but wavered, as though he had hit a physical barrier.

He hissed, gritting his teeth as he tried to push through the pain. He was so close.

A nearby twig snapped, and his head shot up. He immediately regretted it as he was hit by the instantaneous head-rush, making him dizzy and nauseous as his vision started to speckle and darken.

He needed to move.

He took a few desperate steps and stumbled, crying out in agony as he fell against a tree, jostling his shoulders, and sending sparks of lightning-sharp agony through his arms. It felt like his nerves had been frayed.

He inched forward with unsteady, wavering steps. Tears and snot drenched his red-raw face, the pain now a constant throb with each pull of his muscles as he forced himself to move.

His thoughts faded as he limped forward, his body shifting into autopilot. He felt like he was drifting, passing by as an observer to his own wearied body. He felt numb.

The trees were thinning, and for a moment a faint sliver of moonlight peaked through the clouds and washed over the small clearing, glinting off the raindrops that clung to the long grass. The ground was well travelled, and mud squelched beneath him as he walked trance-like onto the worn path.

Whether the tracks had been worn away by humans or mobs was a question that he was too tired to even consider.

The wind picked up, screeching towards him, and he shivered. He was so close. The forest was shrinking behind him, disappearing into the shadows as he emerged onto flatlands.

The orange lights, brighter now, swam through the air, merging with the mass of bright lights that were rapidly approaching him. He paused, brows furrowed as he struggled to comprehend the words being shouted at him, hovering just beyond his understanding.

The lights came closer, lamps piercing through the darkness like the warm glow of a childhood home, and behind them were shadowed figures. He flinched back as their voices came at him like a whip, cracking through the air with hostility.

“Not a mob. Need help,” he croaked, aware of his blood caked body and deathly pale skin. A lamp was shoved up near his face and he hissed, his eyes too sensitive after the days spent in the mines, and he stumbled backwards, turning his face away and squeezing his eyes shut.

“Shit, he is human,” someone called, their voice lost in the mass of shadowed bodies that now surrounded him. Unease prickled his skin as he felt eyes on him. “You, come with us. Now.” The voice was soft, but underlined by a harsh edge that had Gavin scrambling back. He hissed in pain as his arm was grabbed. His vision blurred and with a stab of panic he felt his knees about to buckle.

“Wait!” He yelled, aware that the crowd was starting to talk over him. “My friend, he’s trapped by the river. About a mile South. At the edge of the treeline, in the undergrowth. Needs help. Now,” he said, his voice trembling.

“Can we spare anyone to send?” One of the faceless men asked. There was some low murmuring and Gavin hissed with frustration.

“Achievement City. The Hunters. He’s a hunter,” he snapped, desperation making his voice louder. “Geoff. He’s Geoff Ramsey, so you better bloody spare someone!”

“Bruce, get a message down to Achievement City,” the leader ordered. Gavin felt an arm pushing gently on his back, encouraging him to move. He stumbled forwards a few steps, watching as the man in question sprinted off towards the village, glancing back at him with pity in his eyes.

“Geoff needs help now,” he demanded, planting his feet in the ground and refusing to move.

“There’s too many mobs near the village for me to send anyone. The hunters will find him,” the leader reasoned in a soft, almost considerate voice.

“He won’t last that long,” he hissed, grunting in pain and frustration as the hand on his back became more insistent, tugging him forward. He could feel the rolling waves of irritation coming from the leader. “You’re killing him if you leave him!” He tried to yell, but his voice broke off in a tremoring sob, as he pushed unsuccessfully against the leader’s weight, lashing out with his already weak body.

“He’s right. No one can last long on a night like this,” one of the warriors piped up in a stern, chastising voice.

“He’s a hunter, we do owe him,” another added, and Gavin sobbed, turning pleading eyes on the two.

“I know we do, but he’s probably already a lost cause. We can’t risk losing more of our warriors,” the leader said quietly, probably thinking that Gavin was too far gone to hear. He hissed, struggling in the loose grip.

“The Hunters will defend you! They’ll help you, as they’ve done before, but not if you don’t help Geoff now,” he growled, fighting against his rapidly fading vision and swimming head. The leader regarded him coldly for a moment.

“The Hunters will never help us again if we deny help to one of their own,” the warrior from before added, followed by a small chorus of timid agreement. The leader sighed heavily. “Geoff Ramsey saved my life once. I shall go.”

“I’ll go with her. You can spare us until the Hunters come.”

“Thank you,” Gavin whispered, the fight rapidly draining from his body. The adrenaline faded abruptly, and now his legs did buckle and his eyes rolled backwards into his head. He could hear the voices of the group swimming around his body as he connected with the ground, faintly tasting the mud and rain beneath him, before his senses faded completely and he was left in a deep, impenetrable darkness.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryan had been asleep when the messenger came.

He jolted awake, overstrung and sensitive nerves reacting dramatically to the sudden canopy of noises outside.

He was in Gavin’s house. He hadn’t meant to sleep, but he had been lying on the other man’s bed and staring blankly around the empty room. He’d only had a few hours’ sleep the whole week, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he had drifted off unknowingly.

He stumbled to his feet, haphazardly brushing a hand down his shirt, failing to straighten out the day-old creases, as he slipped out of the door unnoticed into the clearing.

“Ryan.” He jumped as Jack placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Ryan turned to meet the other man, unable to meet those soft, understanding eyes. “They think they’ve found Geoff,” Jack explained.

“That’s…That doesn’t make sense,” he said, anxiety coiling in his gut. He clenched his hands into fists and took a few deep breaths. Jack watched him carefully.

“I know. It’s probably not him. But it is someone who does need our help and that’s our job,” Jack replied.

“What about Gavin?” He asked. Jack pursed his lips.

“No mention of him,” he paused, narrowing his eyes, “But there is a person who came to the village to tell them about Geoff. The messenger couldn’t really describe him. It was too dark.”

“It could be…”

“Maybe. Or it could just be another traveller,” Jack said. “Michael is fetching the horses for us, but you can stay here if you need to. Jeremy and Ray are staying to help defend against the mobs.”

“No, I need to go,” he said quickly, pressing his lips into a thin line. He exhaled sharply through his nose.

“It might not be them. Even if it is, it might be too late. Just…be aware of that, okay?” Jack said with a sigh. He nodded.

Michael appeared a few moments later, trailing three horses behind him. He was frowning, eyes flittering uneasily at every movement. He looked up, making eye contact with Ryan and giving him a tight smile which didn’t reach his eyes.

“You ready to head off? Burnie and the sorcerers will catch up to us with the medical supplies,” Michael said, passing the reins over to them and expertly mounting his own stead, which shuffled restlessly under his weight.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he said, mounting his own horse.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Michael said quietly.

“Noted,” he replied stiffly. Jack glanced between them with a frown and a soft sigh. Michael patted Ryan on the arm, the touch lingering for a moment as he waited for Jack to mount.

“We could get lucky,” Michael added. Ryan stared at him, expression hardening. Michael’s mouth twisted and he looked away.

“Come on,” Michael called, urging his horse into a quick gallop, hooves thundering as he sped out of Achievement City, Ryan and Jack falling into place beside him.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryan froze in the doorway, his mind going blank, unable to process the sight in front of him. The villager, a young woman he only vaguely recognised from his few expeditions out here, stood next to him with a pensive, worried look.

“Is it him?” She pressed cautiously. He inhaled sharply.

“Yes,” he said. “Tell the others.” The woman left quickly, seeming almost relieved to be away from his intense gaze.

Gavin was stretched out on the mattress, naked aside from the white, clinical briefs that he had been dressed in. His skin was a ghostly pale, caked in blood and dried mud, and marred by blotches of dark bruises. Had it not been for the violent tremors raking his body and the restless moans, he would have thought him dead.

The village healer was scrubbing the limp body with a soaking rag. The cauldron of water rested beside the crackling fire which warmed the room, and steam gradually rose from the pot, but it seemed to be doing nothing to abate the goosebumps that adorned Gavin’s skin.

“What’s wrong with him?” Ryan asked, taking a few timid steps until he was beside the bed, his hand hovering just above Gavin’s chest. He was almost too scared to touch.

“I haven’t had a chance to do a thorough examination. The most pressing concern at the moment is getting his temperature to return to normal,” the healer explained, squeezing the rag so that the water coursed down the side of Gavin’s abdomen, making Gavin’s muscles twitch under the phantom touch. “There’s a lot that concerns me, but it’s too early to speculate on the specific injuries.”

“Can I help?” He asked. The healer regarded him for a moment.

“Start drying him off,” the healer responded, gesturing towards the nearby pile of towels. Ryan nodded, grabbing a couple of towels and pulling up a stool, leaning over Gavin’s prone body.

Gavin stirred, but did not wake, murmuring indiscernible words in his sleep as Ryan ruffled the towel through his soaked hair and across his face and neck, before moving down to his chest, following the movements of the healer. He stared down at Gavin’s face, his touch lingering for a moment as a thousand thoughts and what ifs cascaded through his mind.

There was some commotion as Michael brashly pushed through the doorway only to freeze at the sight. Jack followed a second after, his eyes lighting up as he caught sight of Gavin.

“Holy shit,” Michael whispered.

“There are too many people in here,” the healer muttered, but was ignored as Michael and Jack pressed up against his side, staring down at Gavin with disbelief.

“Holy shit!” Michael repeated, breathing heavily. A grin spread across his face and his eyes shone with an almost manic glint. “Holy shit, he’s alive!”

_For now,_ Ryan thought, but didn’t dare say.

“Please stand back. I work better in silence,” the healer snapped. Michael’s expression darkened, but Jack placed a calming hand on his shoulder and dragged him back, cooling the rage boiling up inside him.

“Any news on Geoff?” Ryan asked.

“Burnie’s lot are searching. If they find him, they’ll take him straight back to Achievement City. They’ve got the supplies to transport him,” Jack explained.

“Do they know about Gavin?”

“No, just us three and the village,” Jack replied, chewing on his bottom lip. The healer tutted as their conversation continued. “I might head back to Achievement City to update everyone. Michael, you’re probably needed to help defend the village,” Jack suggested, looking towards the healer knowingly. Michael frowned, but nodded, heading out of the door with one last fleeting look at Gavin.

“Good luck,” Jack said, placing a strong hand on his shoulder and squeezing. Ryan looked up at him.

“You too,” he whispered, the words thick in his mouth. Jack smiled softly at him, before pulling him up into a firm hug, the moment slightly ruined by the grumbling of the old healer behind them. Jack pulled back, pressing their foreheads together. “Keep him safe,” he added, before turning and leaving.

“Get back to drying,” the healer ordered, throwing the towel at him and shaking him from his thoughts.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryan startled awake to the sound of horrendous coughing.

“Lift him up,” the healer ordered, hastily grabbing supplies. Ryan clambered into the bed and grabbed Gavin from behind, hoisting him up and pressing him up against his chest. Gavin cried out as he was moved, struggling weakly in his grasp. He rubbed Gavin’s back in soothing circles, wincing at the cracking wheeze escaping his throat.

“Inhale this,” the healer instructed, coming up to the side of the bed with a curved mug, thick steam which smelt faintly like mint floating up, which was pressed just below Gavin’s mouth and nose. Gavin spluttered, but had enough awareness to breathe in the steam, which slowly eased his chest until his coughing fit subsided and he went limp in Ryan’s grip.

“Is it pneumonia?” Ryan asked. Gavin stirred, craning his neck up to look at him with dimmed, confused eyes.

“Possibly. But he has also damaged a few ribs,” the healer responded, bending over the bed so that he was peering into Gavin’s eyes. “His pupils are still dilated, but I don’t think he has a head injury.”

“Geoff?” Gavin said in a hoarse voice, gaze flickering between Ryan and the healer. “Is he okay?” Gavin asked with increasing desperation, hissing out in pain as he tried to clamber into a more upright position. Ryan tightened his grip.

“There are people looking for him,” Ryan answered in a soft voice. Gavin scrunched his eyes up, his features twisting with pain.

“By the river, a mile…”

“We know, you told us,” he interrupted. Gavin blinked, confusion darkening his features but he nodded wearily, before abruptly starting.

“Ryan?” He said, pitch lifting in sudden realisation. Ryan hummed in response, brushing a hand though Gavin’s hair. “You’re okay,” Gavin murmured softly, before adding sharply, “Are you?”

“Yeah, yeah Gav, of course,” he replied, frowning down at the other man.

“Worry more about yourself kid,” the healer tutted. Gavin looked at him with furrowed brows. “Your arms, can you stretch them out for me?” The healer asked.

Ryan frowned, gaze darting towards Gavin’s arms; across his left arm was the deep cut, which he had noticed earlier when they had removed the haphazard bandaging, which looked like a spider bite, but the spacing was atypical. His other arm was dotted with bruises, but looked otherwise unharmed aside from the way the elbow was bent sharply outwards.

“Not really,” Gavin huffed, but stretched out his arms obediently, gritting his teeth through the pain. The right arm didn’t straighten completely, and both arms shock from the strain. The healer pursed his lips, taking the right arm and gently encouraging it to straighten further, which it did, but the elbow remained bent at an unusual angle.

“Do you recall what happened to them?” The healer asked, allowing Gavin to drop his arms.

“They got yanked,” Gavin said. The healer frowned, scribbling away in his nearby journal.

“What did this?” The healer asked, pointing to the cut. It covered the majority of Gavin’s forearm, but looked to be a few days old.

“Cave spider,” he answered. Ryan quirked an eyebrow, questions swarming his mind. The healer too regarded Gavin for a moment, an inquisitive tilt to his head before he moved on.

“That explains a lot,” the healer murmured, mostly to himself as he added a further note to his records. “They’re venomous. Takes a while to heal from those bites,” the healer explained, looking up at Ryan. “I have a few things that will probably help.”

“What’s wrong with his arms?” Ryan asked.

“Nerve damage, I believe. Particularly marked in the right arm. It’s difficult to make a prognosis at this stage,” he said. Ryan pursed his lips.

There was a sudden commotion outside, and then several people stormed into the chamber. The healer straightened, his face a picture of rage as his room was overfilled.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The healer demanded. The three new people were dressed in royal colours, and their clothes were adorned with various jewels and artefacts which made the room shimmer with power. Ryan recognised them immediately as the Court sorcerers.

“Burnie wants him taken to Achievement City,” ordered one of the sorcerers - a man by the name of Aaron - gesturing to Gavin. He eyed Ryan suspiciously. “We’re in a better position to heal him.”

“He is my patient and I don’t deem him fit to travel,” the healer grumbled, purposefully turning his back on the sorcerers. The corners of Ryan’s mouth twitched at the astonished look on the sorcerers’ faces at the blatant disrespect.

“Do you know anything about Geoff?” Ryan asked, but the sorcerers ignored him, not even sparing him a glance.

“Then we will treat him here,” Aaron continued, lowering his head aggressively.

“He is being treated and you are wasting my time,” the healer snapped.

“We have orders from the king,” hissed another one of the sorcerers, an aged woman that Ryan did not know by name.

“Whatever you think you can do, we can do quicker and better. So, I suggest you not waste our time,” Aaron warned. The healer all but growled at them, but threw his arms up in the air in frustration and stormed out, hissing profanities all the while.

The sorcerers’ turned their gazes on Ryan.

“You are not needed,” Aaron said coldly, beady eyes burrowing into Ryan. The others looked at him with a similar sense of disdain.

“I want him here,” Gavin said, glowering at the sorcerers. Ryan averted his gaze, feeling tiny and trapped. “And he’s also a healer and a sorcerer so he can help,” he added defensively.

“Not much of one,” the third in the group said, meeting Ryan’s gaze with a slight smirk.

“Fine, he can stay,” Aaron relented. “If he stays out of the way,” he added pointedly.

“Is Geoff okay?” Gavin pressed before the sorcerers could start working.

“He is in Achievement City,” Aaron responded curtly, spreading his hands out in front of him, the action mirrored by the other sorcerers. He whispered a guttural incarnation and placed his palms just above Gavin’s body, where a translucent red ooze dribbled down, flashing across Gavin’s form.

“Injured shoulders, damaged lung, two damaged ribs, toxic substance in bloodstream, various other minor injuries,” Aaron listed, watching as the red light spread, collecting in areas of severe injury whilst outlining the inner anatomy. It travelled across the veins and arteries where the venom remained in the bloodstream.

“Far quicker than traditional methods,” Aaron said smugly, catching his fascinated gaze. Ryan pursed his lips, nodding numbly.

The sorcerers continued to tend to Gavin, talking amongst themselves as they did so, and Ryan found his thoughts drifting to Geoff. No one had been to Achievement City yet to check, so he had no way of knowing if they had found him, or if he was still alive.

It was a miracle that Gavin was still here. He didn't know whether they could get that lucky twice.

* * *

 

 

The last thing Geoff expected to see when he opened his eyes was Burnie looming over him, looking incredibly frightened, before his expression shifted to one of absolute relief.

“You fucker,” Burnie said, a grin splitting across his face, “You’ll survive anything, won’t you?”

“Like a cockroach,” he said, his brows furrowing. Burnie looked like he was crying.

“Tell you what, survive a bit longer, and I’ll buy you a drink, okay?” Burnie continued. There was some commotion behind him. “I’ve found him!”

“I’ll take you up on that,” he said, not really sure what was going on. He felt numb and his thoughts were lagging behind.

“Hey, stay awake a bit longer asshole,” Burnie said, shaking him slightly. He hissed, shooting him a withering look.

“He’s very cold, sire,” someone said, crouching down besides Geoff and placing a hand on his forehead. They muttered something that Geoff couldn’t make out, and then a bright light shot out of his palm and engulfed Geoff’s body in warmth. “We need to get him inside.”

“Do what you need to do,” Burnie said, standing up and suddenly looking very regal. “Will he make it?”

“If we act quickly, sire.”

“Then get moving,” he ordered, and several people snapped into action all at once.

Geoff couldn’t keep track of all the movements, and instead he stared up at the sky, feeling himself being lifted - levitated – and tried to think through the banging in his head. And then there was another incantation being whispered above him, and speckles of light dribbled over him and eased him into a deep, painless sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Light drifted through the window and danced across Geoff's body. He stretched, wiggling out of the blankets and sighing at the coolness that washed over his chest.

He was alone. He had become used to people swarming by his bedside, and now the sudden peace felt like a breath of fresh air.

He hummed, staring up at the ceiling absentmindedly and letting his thoughts drift.

His back was itchy where the wound had been thoroughly cleaned and bandaged, and he grunted, twisting around to scratch at it. His nails scraped over the thick bandage uselessly, failing to relieve the itch.

His body was starting to wake up, demanding his attention as various aches and pains managed to penetrate the drug haze. He hissed. A dull ache spread down his leg, which was held together with a thick, unrelenting cast. It was also itchy, but he couldn’t get his fingers underneath it to scratch it. He grunted in irritation.

He didn’t want to stay in bed any longer.

With great difficulty, he managed to struggle into a sitting position, swinging his legs out over the bed. It took him a moment to catch his breath. Against the bedside table were a pair of crutches, which he stretched for, dragging them towards him and getting them underneath his arms.

He gritted his teeth as he swung forward onto them, balancing precariously on his non-injured leg as he struggled to adjust his weight. He moved forward cautiously, still getting used to the crutches. His steps were shaky and small, but he was making progress.

He didn’t notice the door opening, too focused on getting himself mobile.

“Geoff,” Jack’s voice interrupted his struggle, the sigh audible in his tone. “Geoff, you’re not meant to be out of bed,” he chastised, coming up to Geoff’s side.

“Then you shouldn’t give me crutches,” he retorted.

“We only gave them to you because you kept trying to crawl,” Jack reminded him. Geoff huffed, swinging forward another step. “We should have just strapped you down to the bed.”

“Where is everyone?” He asked.

“Working or sleeping. Ryan and Jeremy were with Gavin last I saw,” Jack replied, watching him anxiously.

“Is Gavin awake?” He asked. He hadn’t seen Gavin at all. All he got was reassurances that the other man was okay, but each time he had pressed further he had been told that Gavin was asleep.

“Yes,” Jack said, frowning as Geoff moved towards the door. “You really shouldn’t be moving around,” Jack added with a sigh, following him reluctantly.

“Where is he?” Geoff asked, pausing outside the door. It took him a moment to orientate himself, realising he was within the lower floor of the tower.

“A few rooms over. This way,” Jack answered, guiding him carefully. It took Geoff a moment to get moving again, his body already overcome by fatigue. “How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad, considering,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not sure I’ve fully processed everything that’s happened though.”

“I don’t think anyone has,” Jack said. “We didn’t really expect you guys to survive.”

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence. I thought you were meant to be the ‘believe in everyone’ guy,” he retorted. Jack smiled softly.

“I’m really glad you made it.”

“You and me both.”

They walked in companionable silence, pausing every now and again to let Geoff regain his strength. It took far longer to get there then it should have, but soon enough he was outside the door. He felt strangely nervous as Jack knocked, opening the door and letting Geoff in first.

Gavin perked up immediately, a grin splitting across his bruised and battered face. Geoff smiled at him, his gaze assessing the injuries that the younger man had sustained. His left arm was bandaged, whilst the right arm was pinned to his side with a thick cast with metal supports. Nearby the bed was an oxygen supply and a mask.

Jeremy was sat on the edge of the bed, but jumped up to grab a chair for Geoff, sliding it across the floor and next to the bed. In the opposite chair Ryan was slumped over, his features contorted with stress even in his sleep.

“Did you bore him to death?” Geoff asked Jeremy, nodding towards Ryan as he plopped down onto the seat with a relieved sigh. Jack snorted next to him.

“Geoff, please, I’m far too entertaining for that,” Jeremy replied, his gaze scanning Geoff with concern, despite the bright smile on his face. Geoff grinned, turning his attention to Gavin.

“You look like shit,” he said, noticing the faint blush that danced across Gavin’s cheek.

“At least I can walk,” he retorted with a grin.

“I can walk with one leg,” he argued. “What’s this for?” He asked, tapping the oxygen tank with the end of his crutch.

“He’s got a bruised lung,” Jack answered. “And a lung infection.”

“Yeah, I had one of those tubes in for a while, which was gross,” Gavin said, scrunching up his face.

“How many times did you gag?” Geoff grinned, watching Gavin pale.

“He was asleep the whole time he had the tube in,” Jack pointed out with a scoff.

“We told him about it when he woke up and he started gagging,” Jeremy added. Geoff snorted.

“What is this? A secret meeting I wasn’t invited too?” Michael interrupted, standing in the doorway, arms crossed in faux anger.

“Michael, boi! Did you get me food?” Gavin asked excitedly. Nearby Ryan shifted, groggily opening an eye at the noise.

“Shut up Gavin, I’m not getting you food!”

“But Michael!”

“No, shut up. The healer already told you no. Eat your stupid hospital food, god,” Michael retorted, his cheeks reddening as he yelled, even whilst a grin spread across his face as he plopped down on the end of the bed.

“Hmm, I would kill for a burger,” Geoff hummed.

“You can’t eat it either,” Ryan muttered with his eyes closed.

“Dude, you sound worse than we look. Go to bed, Ryan,” Geoff said, rolling his eyes. Ryan sent him a pointed look.

“You’re not even meant to be out of bed, Geoff,” he retorted.

“Ryan, don’t be grumpy, Ryan!” Gavin said, elongating Ryan’s name with a shit-eating grin on his face. Ryan grunted, glaring at him.

“They’re actually right for once,” Jack said. Ryan gave a long-suffering sigh, rolling his shoulders back with an audible click. “I’m so close to physically dragging you to bed.”

“Jesus, fine, I’m going,” Ryan grumbled, shakily getting to his feet. Jack smiled, victorious as Ryan reluctantly walked out of the room, muttering as he did so.

“Sorry to break up this love fest, but Lindsay needs us to secure the Western border before nightfall,” Michael pointed out, standing up and stretching. Jeremy groaned, less than eager.

“Have fun with that,” Gavin said sarcastically. Jeremy flipped him off as he left. Michael just grunted in acknowledgement as he headed off.

“There’s always at least one healer down here, so if you need help, just shout,” Jack explained, hesitating by the door.

“I’m sure we’ll manage,” Geoff said, rolling his eyes.

“I can never be sure with you two,” Jack retorted with a smile, before following Michael and Jeremy.

Geoff turned his attention to Gavin, noting the dark circles beneath his slightly bloodshot eyes, and the stark paleness of his usually tan skin. Gavin averted his gaze, pulling at the threads of his mattress, shifting uneasily.

“How are you?” He asked softly. Gavin pursed his lips.

“Nothing lethal, so that’s a plus,” he replied, squirming slightly. “My arm is pretty fucked though.”

“How bad?”

“They’re not really sure yet, but it’s not going to heal fully,” Gavin admitted. “Bloody nerve damage.”

“Whatever it is, we can adapt to it,” he said. Gavin huffed dubiously. “I’m serious. Even if you lose the arm, we can still work with it.”

“I’m an archer, Geoff,” he grunted. “And I’m right-handed.”

“Well, yeah, it’s not going to be easy. But we can adapt the bow if need be. I’ve seen archers with only one arm before. Just look at how many high-ranking members there are in Burnie’s army that are disabled,” he pointed out. Gavin hummed, staring down at his lap despondently. Geoff sighed.

Geoff clambered unsteadily to his feet, limping over towards the bed and struggling into it, lying down next to Gavin. Gavin watched him for a moment, before shifting in closer, accepting the comfort that was offered.

“What about you, are you okay?” Gavin asked.

“I guess. I haven’t really been told much to be honest,” he shrugged, staring down at Gavin.

They lapsed into silence, content to just listen to the sound of each other’s breathing. Geoff scratched gently at Gavin’s scalp, watching the other man relax with a contented sigh. He pursed his lips.

“I love you,” he murmured tentatively. Gavin stiffened, looking up at him with owl-like eyes. “Is that…is that okay?” He asked when Gavin failed to respond.

“I thought…” Gavin paused, running his tongue across his lips and swallowing heavily. “You pulled away when we kissed,” Gavin said, a questioning tone lacing his words.

“I didn’t want…I didn’t want it to be in such dire circumstances,” he admitted, sitting up in the bed and turning to look at Gavin. Gavin frowned, tilting his head.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think you would have kissed me if we weren’t both dying.”

“I mean, the risk of kissing you didn’t seem so great when we were on the verge of death,” Gavin said cautiously, staring up at him. “But it wasn’t an attempt at an end-of-the-world shag if that’s what you think.”

“I was scared you might regret it if we both survived.”

“I don’t regret it.”

Geoff could feel his heart thumping in his chest. He opened his mouth, trying to speak but no words came and he slapped his lips together again. His mouth felt dry. He was breathless in a way that was both uncomfortable and enchanting. He was incredibly aware of the warmth of Gavin next to him.

Gavin looked at him, his eyes dropping down to Geoff’s lips and back up to meet his gaze. He could feel where their bodies were pressed together, and he tentatively reached out, running his hand down Gavin’s side and letting it rest in the grove of his lower back, nudging them closer.

“Don’t be a tease,” Gavin huffed, his pupils blown wide. Geoff grinned, and the surreal, beautiful moment, became human, and _them,_ once more.

He pushed forwards, their lips meeting, even as their foreheads bumped clumsily as they tried to figure out how they fit together. Gavin moaned softly, and Geoff tugged experimentally on his lower lip, trying to encourage more of the soft sounds that sent a fire pooling in his core. Gavin whined, pulling back to gasp for air momentarily, before he was clashing their lips together once more.

Geoff smirked, opening up further as Gavin became incessant, humming into Geoff’s mouth as he pushed his tongue in, groaning as Geoff pulled away just a fraction of an inch, encouraging Gavin to chase the movement.

“Ahhh,” Gavin hummed, pulling away completely as a giggle bubbled forth. “Geoff, I have a chest infection.”

“You absolute prick,” he retorted, retaliating by leaning in and placing a slobbering kiss across Gavin’s forehead, making the younger man squawk and squirm.

“Geoff!” He whined, struggling out of his grip with a laugh and flopping back down onto the bed. He was panting, and a strained wheezed escaped him, but he was grinning nonetheless. Geoff found himself grinning back.

For a moment, all they did was breathe, wrapped up in the electrifying energy that made his very skin tingle.

“So, am I the best kisser you’ve ever had then?” He asked, smirking. Gavin huffed, his blush deepening.

“Are we…?” Gavin asked, stumbling over the words. Geoff’s gaze softened.

“Whatever you want us to be,” he suggested, brushing a hand idly through Gavin’s hair, which was soft now where it had been freshly washed. Gavin hummed.

“Boyfriends?” He said shyly. Geoff smiled.

“Sounds good,” he agreed, shifting down the bed and snuggling up to Gavin.

“Are you going to sleep?” Gavin asked with a snort. Geoff hummed into his side, closing his eyes and dragging Gavin closer.

“Buddy, I’m going to sleep for a year,” he said, kissing the back of Gavin’s head. Gavin laughed and shifted closer, humming contently as he too closed his eyes and they drifted off together.

 

 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed and thank you so much for all the nice comments! It's really been appreciated. 
> 
> This series won't be in a chronological order, so the next story might not follow on directly from this, and will probably focus on the other characters more. It's not been written yet so I can't say when that will come out. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr and love-geoffFree and my writing blog is lovegeofffreewriting. Feel free to follow and come talk! 
> 
> Thank you again for your support :)


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